Abstract: There is provided a vacuum film deposition apparatus which forms a film on a substrate by a vacuum film deposition technique, include: substrate holding means for holding the substrate; a deposition preventing member for preventing film deposition at undesired positions within the apparatus; and contacting means for bringing the substrate or the substrate holding means and the deposition preventing member into contact with each other.

Abstract: The vacuum evaporation method provides a heating element between an evaporation source of a film-forming material and a substrate; and forms a phosphor layer of an alkali halide-based phosphor on a surface of said substrate by vacuum evaporation while causing the heating element to generate heat at a temperature t (° C.) satisfying Formula (1): T?200?t<T ??(1) where T is a boiling point (° C.) of the film-forming material. This method is capable of using the film-forming material making up the phosphor layer with higher efficiency owing to a heating element while preventing the substrate and the phosphor layer from being adversely affected by heat from the heating element.

Abstract: There is provided a vacuum film deposition apparatus which forms a film on a substrate by a vacuum film deposition technique, include: substrate holding means for holding the substrate; a deposition preventing member for preventing film deposition at undesired positions within the apparatus; and contacting means for bringing the substrate or the substrate holding means and the deposition preventing member into contact with each other.

Abstract: An apparatus for evaporating vapor-deposition material includes a vapor-deposition vessel with a depth greater than or equal to a predetermined value. The apparatus for evaporating vapor-deposition material further includes a heating means for heating the vapor-deposition material held in the vapor-deposition vessel so that the vapor-deposition material has a temperature gradient decreasing in the depth direction of the vapor-deposition vessel toward the bottom of the vessel.

Abstract: A gas barrier film includes a substrate film and a gas barrier layer formed on the substrate film. The gas barrier layer is an inorganic compound layer that is made of an inorganic compound having a grain size of 3 nm to 20 nm and has grain boundaries at intervals of 1 nm to 20 nm. A stimulable phosphor panel includes a substrate, a stimulable phosphor layer formed on the substrate and the gas barrier film with which the stimulable phosphor layer is covered and sealed. A gas barrier film producing method prepares the substrate film and performs impedance controlled reactive sputtering on the substrate film at a film deposition pressure of 0.01 Pa to 0.13 Pa to form the gas barrier layer on the substrate film to thereby produce the gas barrier film.

Abstract: The process and apparatus introduce a carrier gas into a vacuum evaporation chamber, evaporate a film forming material from a evaporation source and deposit the evaporated film forming material on a substrate in sheet form to form a stimulable phosphor layer, thereby producing a evaporated phosphor sheet having a stimulable phosphor layer formed on the substrate. The stimulable phosphor layer is formed with substantially all areas of the evaporation source except opening for evaporation being masked to block movement of heat toward the substrate. The evaporated phosphor sheet includes the substrate and a CsBr:Eu evaporated stimulable phosphor layer deposited on the substrate. A maximum intensity of instantaneous light emission from the stimulable phosphor layer at 640 nm upon excitation by uv radiation is lower than a maximum intensity of the instantaneous light emission at 440 nm.

Abstract: The apparatus for producing sheeting includes a transport unit which transports a web of sheeting along its length direction, a pattern transfer unit which forms a pattern on a surface of the sheeting by transfer and that is provided in a pathway where the web of sheeting is transported by the transport unit, a film depositing unit which performs vacuum film deposition on the patterned surface of the web of sheeting and that is provided downstream of the pattern transfer unit in the pathway, and a pressure retaining unit which retains pressure within the film depositing unit and that is provided in a region of the film depositing unit into which the web of sheeting is transported and in a region of the film depositing unit from which the web of sheeting emerges.

Abstract: The vacuum deposition method measures temperature in an interior of a crucible for the resistance heating which contains at least one film-depositing material, controls heating of the crucible in accordance with a measurement result of the temperature and forming a film on a substrate under controlling of the heating of the crucible. The vacuum deposition apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, an evacuating unit for evacuating the vacuum chamber, one or more crucibles for resistance heating, a power source for resistance heating which supplies the at least one crucible with resistance heating power, a temperature measuring unit for measuring the temperature in an interior of at least one crucible and a controller for controlling supply of power for resistance heating to one or more crucibles in accordance with the measurement result of the temperature.

Abstract: There is provided a stimulable phosphor sheet manufacturing apparatus which forms a stimulable phosphor layer through vacuum evaporation in a vacuum chamber. A substrate is conveyed linearly, evaporation sources are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the substrate is conveyed, and/or the apparatus includes the evaporation sources relying on resistance heating and a gas introducing nozzle for introducing an inert gas into a vacuum chamber during film formation. A phosphor layer of highly uniform film thickness distribution can be formed.

Abstract: A crucible for vacuum evaporation includes a crucible main body accommodating a film forming material and generating heat through energization and a convection member secured in position inside the crucible main body and forcibly changing the direction of natural convection of the molten material. Other crucible includes the crucible main body and a cover member closing the material accommodating portion of the main body and equipped with a vapor outlet port, the main body and the cover member being firmly connected to each other. A phosphor sheet manufacturing apparatus uses those crucibles.

Abstract: A phosphor layer of a radiation image storage panel produced by vapor phase deposition method under such condition that the phosphor layer is composed of a phosphor of a cesium chloride crystalline structure which is grown on a crystal face of (110) or (100) shows an increased sensitivity.

Abstract: A radiation image storage panel having a phosphor layer which is composed of a phosphor having a matrix component and an activator component is prepared by the steps of forming on a substrate a lower prismatic crystalline layer composed of the matrix component by vapor deposition; and forming on the lower prismatic crystalline layer an upper prismatic crystalline layer composed of the matrix component and the activator component by vapor deposition.

Abstract: The process and apparatus introduce a carrier gas into a vacuum evaporation chamber, evaporate a film forming material from a evaporation source and deposit the evaporated film forming material on a substrate in sheet form to form a stimulable phosphor layer, thereby producing a evaporated phosphor sheet having a stimulable phosphor layer formed on the substrate. The stimulable phosphor layer is formed with substantially all areas of the evaporation source except opening for evaporation being masked to block movement of heat toward the substrate. The evaporated phosphor sheet includes the substrate and a CsBr:Eu evaporated stimulable phosphor layer deposited on the substrate. A maximum intensity of instantaneous light emission from the stimulable phosphor layer at 640 nm upon excitation by uv radiation is lower than a maximum intensity of the instantaneous light emission at 440 nm.

Abstract: The carbon layer forming method starts a film deposition process of a carbon layer by vapor phase deposition after a content of particles having a particle size of 0.5 &mgr;m or more is adjusted in a film deposition system of the carbon layer to 1000 particles/ft3/min or less. The carbon layer forming method by means of a vapor phase deposition technique such as sputtering or CVD ensures that a high-quality carbon layer having significantly reduced pinholes or cracks can be obtained. Since the carbon protective layer obtained by this method has no cracking and delamination due to pinholes and cracks, the thermal head having the carbon protective layer has a sufficient durability to ensure that high reliability is exhibited over an extended period of time to perform thermal recording of high-quality images consistently over an extended period of operation.

Abstract: The stimulable phosphor sheet has a stimulable phosphor layer formed by a vacuum film forming technique. The stimulable phosphor layer contains a europium-activated cesium bromide based stimulable phosphor as a main ingredient. A maximum intensity of emission that is generated in a wavelength range of 490-510 nm when the stimulable phosphor layer is exposed to electron beams is lower than a maximum intensity of the emission generated in a wavelength range of 440-460 nm.

Abstract: A thermal head lapping apparatus includes a pallet for holding at least one thermal head, a transport device for transporting the thermal head held on the pallet successively to a specified processing position, and a lapping device for forcing a lapping material being moved onto the thermal head that has been transported to said processing position. As a result, the apparatus is capable of advantageously performing lapping treatment with a good efficiency on surfaces to be coated with protective layers or the formed protective layers in a process of fabricating a thermal head, thereby improving the production efficiency of the thermal head and fabricating with a good productivity the suitably lapped thermal head of high quality that ensures high quality image recording.

Abstract: A radiation image storage panel comprises a substrate and a stimulable phosphor layer overlaid on the substrate. The substrate has a plurality of protruding regions over an entire surface of the substrate. The stimulable phosphor layer comprises a plurality of pillar-shaped structures of a stimulable phosphor, which pillar-shaped structures extend in a layer thickness direction of the stimulable phosphor layer, each of the pillar-shaped structures of the stimulable phosphor having been formed with one of the protruding regions of the substrate as a starting point of the pillar-shaped structure and with a vapor phase deposition technique. A surface of the stimulable phosphor layer is formed with only the pillar-shaped structures of the stimulable phosphor, which pillar-shaped structures extend respectively from the protruding regions of the substrate.

Abstract: The apparatus for producing sheeting includes a transport unit which transports a web of sheeting along its length direction, a pattern transfer unit which forms a pattern on a surface of the sheeting by transfer and that is provided in a pathway where the web of sheeting is transported by the transport unit, a film depositing unit which performs vacuum film deposition on the patterned surface of the web of sheeting and that is provided downstream of the pattern transfer unit in the pathway, and a pressure retaining unit which retains pressure within the film depositing unit and that is provided in a region of the film depositing unit into which the web of sheeting is transported and in a region of the film depositing unit from which the web of sheeting emerges.

Abstract: A method for preparing a radiation image storage panel by heating an evaporation source of phosphor material or starting materials for the phosphor material under reduced pressure to produce a vapor of the phosphor material or starting materials and deposit the vapor on a substrate to form a phosphor layer is favorably performed by using an evaporation source having a water content of not more than 0.5 weight %, preferably under the conditions of a partial pressure of water of 7.0×10−3 Pa or lower and a partial pressure of hydrocarbon of 1.0×10−6 Pa or lower.

Abstract: A thermal head fabricating method forms a lower protective layer made of ceramics for protecting a plurality of heat-generating resistors and electrodes, subjects the lower protective layer to etching processing by a plasma and forms a carbon protective layer on the thus subjected lower protective layer. The etching processing is performed using a mask which defines an area where the carbon protective layer is formed, a protective layer is formed on a surface of the mask, and the protective layer is made of a material which is etched at an extremely slow rate or substantially not etched compared with ceramics composing the lower protective layer and/or which does not impart an adverse effect to the carbon protective layer that is subsequently formed.