Abstract: An etching method used to selectively etch a silicon nitride film is achieved that enables the selective ratio of the silicon nitride film relative to a silicon oxide film to be sufficiently high. The etching method uses a reactive ion etching apparatus including a process chamber holding herein a substrate to be etched, gas supply means for supplying a reactant gas into the process chamber, and an upper electrode and a lower electrode provided within the process chamber and applied with high-frequency currents. The etching is performed under the conditions that the reactant gas includes halogen-based gas, the pressure of the reactant gas in the chamber is 12.0 Pa-66.7 Pa, the flow rate of the reactant gas supplied into the chamber is 0.1 liter/min-0.55 liter/min, and the distance between the upper and lower electrodes is 50 mm-120 mm.

Abstract: It is an object of this invention to properly output sounds in stereo at the time of reproducing of images in a video camera having a pivotal image display unit. The invention includes an image display unit which can pivot on an electronic device body and displays images, first and second sound output units, a detection unit for detecting pivoting operation of the image display unit, and a control means for controlling switching of sound signals output to the first and second sound output units upon pivoting operation of the image display unit.

Abstract: An attempt is made to achieve an upward leap in the capacitance of a capacitor of MIM structure and further improvements in the reliability of a semiconductor device. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device has a step of forming an amorphous silicon film on the surface of a lower electrode of a capacitor, a step for roughening the silicon film, to thereby form rough polysilicon, and a step for etching metal film of a lower electrode while the rough polysilicon is taken as a mask, thereby roughening the surface of the lower electrode. Through the foregoing steps, the surface of a lower electrode of a capacitor of MIM (metal/insulator/metal) structure is formed roughly, thereby increasing the surface area of the capacitor. Thus, a large-capacitance capacitor of MIM structure can be fabricated.

Abstract: A non-volatile semiconductor memory device and a manufacturing method of the same where an etching residue generating short-circuit between gates is made harmless or a device is miniaturized are obtained. The method includes the steps of forming on a semiconductor substrate, a first gate layer and a second gate layer, forming a second gate electrode by etching the second gate layer, forming a first gate electrode by etching the first gate layer using the second gate electrode as a mask, and removing a residue left on a step portion by isotropic etching.

Abstract: There is described a method of forming a semiconductor device in which a contact plug penetrates through an interlayer insulating film. The method is capable of formation of a multilayer wiring structure of small resistance. Contact holes are formed in an interlayer oxide film laid on a silicon substrate by etching, through use of a CF-based gas plasma. An organic layer deposited at the bottom of the contact holes is removed through cleaning etching through use of a plasma of a mixed gas consisting of CF4 and O2. After removal of the organic layer, a conductive contact plug is formed in each of the contact holes.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is, while employing only a simple structure, to engage in rapid communication with an external device and to display results of the communication. According to the present invention, disclosed is an electronic apparatus, which comprises conversion means for converting a target image into image signals, supply means for supplying, to a monitor, signals in consonance with the image signal obtained by the conversion means in order to reproduce the target image, communication means for using a DS-Link method to perform bidirectional communication with an external device handling the image signal for the target image and control means for displaying on the monitor information concerning the external device that is obtained by the communication means.

Abstract: A non-volatile semiconductor memory device and a manufacturing method of the same where an etching residue generating short-circuit between gates is made harmless or a device is miniaturized are obtained. The method includes the steps of forming on a semiconductor substrate, a first gate layer and a second gate layer, forming a second gate electrode by etching the second gate layer, forming a first gate electrode by etching the first gate layer using the second gate electrode as a mask, and removing a residue left on a step portion by isotropic etching.

Abstract: Fine operation processing such as nonlinear processing is performed in units of frames in correspondence with each photographing frame. In order to effectively utilize the dynamic range of a digital processing circuit, there is provided an image processing apparatus which includes a varying circuit for varying the signal level in correspondence with the photographing contents, an A/D converter for converting an output varied by the varying circuit into a digital signal, an image memory for storing image information output from the A/D converter, an evaluation circuit for evaluating the image information, an operation circuit for performing operation processing of a signal output from the image memory, and a control circuit for controlling the varying circuit and the operation circuit on the basis of the evaluation result of the evaluation circuit.

Abstract: An image reproducing apparatus evaluating image signal quality includes a reproducing unit for reproducing an image signal, an evaluation unit for evaluating a quality value of the reproduced image signal, and a control unit for controlling the reproducing unit based on the evaluation of the evaluation unit. Preferably, the evaluated quality value relates to one or more of the level of the reproduced image signal, the number of sync blocks in the reproduced image signal, or the error rate of codes of the reproduced image signal. Preferably, the speed of the recording medium can be controlled to provide a quality image at the highest reproducing speed. At higher speeds, only ID data may be displayed.

Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device, a resist pattern is formed on a lower layer pattern of a semiconductor substrate using a mask. An image signal along a line extending on the lower layer pattern and the resist pattern is generated by an optical system. Based on the image signal, a center position of the resist pattern and a center position of the lower layer pattern are calculated using correlation calculation and an overlay error of the resist pattern to the lower layer pattern is determined. When the overlay error falls within a predetermined range, a next manufacturing process such as an etching process and an ion implantation process to the semiconductor substrate is executed. When the overlay error does not fall within a predetermined range, the resist pattern is removed, and a relative position between the semiconductor substrate and the mask is adjusted. Thereafter, the above steps are repeated.

Abstract: A method of generating a computer system to determine a sequence of data transfers required to move data from one or more tables in a source database into a corresponding destination table in a relational database. A randomly ordered list of destination tables is created and sorted such that the destination tables are arranged in a least dependent order so that data is moved into tables before data is moved into tables that contain foreign keys.

Abstract: A computer-based system for allowing a user to create a relational database schema. The system allows a user to create a semantic object data model of the database schema. The semantic object data model is defined by one or more semantic objects, each of which includes one or more attributes that describe a characteristic of the semantic objects. The attributes are defined as being either simple value attributes that describe a single characteristic of the semantic object; group attributes that include one or more member attributes that collectively describe a characteristic of the semantic object; formula attributes that set forth a computation that describes a characteristic of a semantic object; or object link attributes that define a relationship between two or more semantic objects.

Abstract: An image reproduction apparatus has an detection circuit for detecting the phase difference between coded image data and a decoding circuit for decoding the image data. The apparatus also includes a specifying circuit for specifying the transmission timing of the image data and a control circuit for controlling the specifying circuit according to the detection result of the detection circuit.

Abstract: An object model comprises one or more semantic objects that represent items about which data is stored in a relational database in a computer system. Each semantic object has one or more components that define the data stored for each item. The object model is mapped into a current relational database schema. As a user makes changes to the model the computer system generates a proposed relational database schema, and the differences between the current relational database schema and the proposed relational database schema are determined. The relation database is modified to reflect changes made in the corresponding object model based upon the differences between the current and proposed relational database schemas.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an image pickup circuit having a plurality of photographic modes, such as television standards, a compression processing circuit for performing compression processing of an image pickup signal outputted from the image pickup circuit, the compression circuit having a plurality of compression modes, and a selecting circuit for selecting one of the compression modes of the compression processing circuit in accordance with a selected one of the photographic modes of the image pickup circuit.

Abstract: A computer-based system for allowing a user to create a relational database schema. The system allows a user to create a semantic object data model of the database schema. The semantic object data model is defined by one or more semantic objects, each of which includes one or more attributes that describe a characteristic of the semantic objects. The attributes are defined as being either simple value attributes that describe a single characteristic of the semantic object; group attributes that include one or more member attributes that collectively describe a characteristic of the semantic object; formula attributes that set forth a computation that describes a characteristic of a semantic object; or object link attributes that define a relationship between two or more semantic objects.

Abstract: A method of cleaning semiconductor devices which removes or transmutes the contaminants sticking on sidewalls of a pattern or a trench is formed is disclosed. A substrate to be treated on which a pattern or a trench is formed is located in a processing container. A reactive gas which reacts with the contaminants sticking on the sidewall of the pattern or the trench to produce reactive ions which remove or transmute the contaminants is introduced into the processing container. Plasma of the reactive gas is produced by electronic cyclotron resonance in order to produce reactive ions from the reactive gas introduced into the processing container. According to the method, the temperature of the reactive ions in the plasma becomes high, with the result that the motion of the reactive ions in the plasma becomes more active.

Abstract: A method of electron cyclotron resonance plasma etching including generating a constant plasma in a gas in a chamber containing a semiconductor wafer by supplying microwave energy to the chamber continuously and applying a pulsed direct current bias to the semiconductor wafer, wherein the pulsed bias has a period substantially equal to a time constant determined by the capacitance of the semiconductor wafer and the resistance of an ion sheath at the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

Abstract: An apparatus for cleaning a surface includes first and second reaction containers, a holding apparatus for holding, in the second reaction container, a substance to be processed on the surface of which foreign matter is present, an apparatus for supplying helium gas into the first reaction container, an apparatus for generating helium ions, electrons, and metastable helium by exciting helium gas in the first reaction container, and an apparatus for separating the metastable helium generated in the first reaction container and for introducing the metastable helium into the second reaction container.

Abstract: A principal feature of the present invention is to clean a surface of a semiconductor substrate without providing a damaged layer to the surface thereof. A native oxide film formed on the surface of a silicon substrate is etched by plasma employing a gas containing fluorine. The surface of the semiconductor substrate is again subjected to plasma etching by employing a gas containing fluorine in order to remove a surface damaged layer and a fluorocarbon layer formed in the above step of plasma etching. The semiconductor substrate surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays under a low pressure in order to dissociate and remove fluorine atoms chemically adsorbed to the semiconductor substrate surface upon the latter plasma etching.