Abstract: Provided are a metal belt which is improved in wear resistance, thermal conductivity, thin wall designs, heat resistance and flexibility, a fixing belt in which this metal belt is used, and a high durability and high reliability heat fixing device which has this fixing belt. This metal belt is made of a nickel-iron alloy manufactured by an electroforming process, and the nickel-iron alloy satisfies relationships expressed by the following equations: 0.001?S?0.13, and??(1) 85×S+3?F?350×S+3??(2) wherein S represents a sulfur content (mass %) and F represents an iron content (mass %).

Abstract: An information processing apparatus for generating data that a device connected to the information processing apparatus can process is disclosed. The disclosed information processing apparatus includes a function information storage unit configured to store function information regarding functions provided by the device; a configuration information obtaining unit configured to obtain configuration information from the device which configuration information is the latest information on the functions provided by the device; an information comparing unit configured to compare the function information and the configuration information and to update the function information based on the results of the comparison; and a setting screen generating unit configured to generate a setting screen based on the updated function information.

Abstract: Objects of the present invention are to provide an endless metal belt superior in flexing resistance and durability, to provide a fixing belt using the endless metal belt, and to provide a heat fixing device with high durability and high reliability. The objects are achieved by the endless metal belt formed of a nickel alloy containing 5% by weight or more of an additional metallic element and having a half-value width of an X-ray diffraction peak in a range of 0.5 degrees to 2 degrees for each of a crystal plane and a crystal plane, and by using the same.

Abstract: Provided are a metal belt which is improved in wear resistance, thermal conductivity, thin wall designs, heat resistance and flexibility, a fixing belt in which this metal belt is used, and a high durability and high reliability heat fixing device which has this fixing belt. This metal belt is made of a nickel-iron alloy manufactured by an electroforming process, and the nickel-iron alloy satisfies relationships expressed by the following equations: 0.001?S?0.13 ??(1) 85×S+3?F?350×S+3 ??(2) wherein S represents a sulfur content (mass %) and F represents an iron content (mass %).

Abstract: Objects of the present invention are to provide an endless metal belt superior in flexing resistance and durability, to provide a fixing belt using the endless metal belt, and to provide a heat fixing device with high durability and high reliability. The objects are achieved by the endless metal belt formed of a nickel alloy containing 5% by weight or more of an additional metallic element and having a half-value width of an X-ray diffraction peak in a range of 0.5 degrees to 2 degrees for each of a crystal plane and a crystal plane, and by using the same.

Abstract: A screening method includes the steps of cutting off two corners facing each other of square cells to form non-regular hexagonal cells, combining plural of the hexagonal cells into one halftone cell. Further, an interior of the hexagonal cells can be divided in order to form sub-matrices. For a square matrix of 6×6 pixels, 2×2 pixels on the left-upper side of the square matrix of the 6×6 pixels and 2×2 pixels on the right-lower side thereof may be cut down, and thereby one hexagonal cell of 32 pixels not being of a regular hexagon is formed. Further, four hexagonal cells can be combined into one. In such a way, a complex hexagonal cell can be formed. Further, a hexagonal sub-matrix of 8 pixels, also not being of a regular hexagon, can be formed. The center cell of the hexagonal sub-matrix is set to an auxiliary point. Furthermore, three hexagonal cells can be combined into one halftone cell. The number of the halftones which can be expressed by such a halftone cell is 72.

Abstract: A halftone screening method creates screens of a plurality of colors, where each of the screens is divided into a plurality of cells, and intentionally changes a dot position of certain colors within cells of the screens of the certain colors relative to a dot position of a reference color within a cell of the screen of the reference color, so as to suppress a color tone change caused by positional errors of the screens.

Abstract: To select a unit cell configuration for a repeating structure in optical metrology, a plurality of unit cell configurations are defined for the repeating structure. Each unit cell configuration is defined by one or more unit cell parameters. Each unit cell of the plurality of unity cell configurations differs from one another in at least one unit cell parameter. One or more selection criteria are used to select one of the plurality of unit cell configurations. The selected unit cell configuration can then be used to characterize the top-view profile of the repeating structure.

Abstract: Objects of the present invention are to provide an endless metal belt superior in flexing resistance and durability, to provide a fixing belt using the endless metal belt, and to provide a heat fixing device with high durability and high reliability. The objects are achieved by the endless metal belt formed of a nickel alloy containing 5% by weight or more of an additional metallic element and having a half-value width of an X-ray diffraction peak in a range of 0.5 degrees to 2 degrees for each of a crystal plane and a crystal plane, and by using the same.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the alignment of masks in a photolithographic process. A first grating is formed having lines and spaces on a wafer using a first mask having a pattern for the first grating. A second grating is formed having lines and spaces on the wafer using a second mask having a pattern for the second grating and also the pattern for forming the first grating. A determination is then made based on the difference in the width of either the lines or the spaces of the first and second gratings formed on the wafer if the first and second masks are misaligned.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the alignment of masks in a photolithographic process. A first grating is formed having lines and spaces on a wafer using a first mask having a pattern for the first grating. A second grating is formed having lines and spaces on the wafer using a second mask having a pattern for the second grating and also the pattern for forming the first grating. A determination is then made based on the difference in the width of either the lines or the spaces of the first and second gratings formed on the wafer if the first and second masks are misaligned.

Abstract: A halftone screening method creates screens of a plurality of colors, where each of the screens is divided into a plurality of cells, and intentionally changes a dot position of certain colors within cells of the screens of the certain colors relative to a dot position of a reference color within a cell of the screen of the reference color, so as to suppress a color tone change caused by positional errors of the screens.

Abstract: This invention proposes to form a pair of protruding or projecting stripe portions along the tape-gliding face of magnetic tape and to reduce the pad pressure to magnetic tape thereby reducing the gliding resistance of magnetic tape without increasing its spacing loss (first embodiment), to incline the plane of the projecting stripe portions in a decreasing direction in the vicinity of the tape-gliding face in order to stabilize the pad contact (second embodiment), to form grooves on the tape-gliding face of the magnetic core in the transversal edge portions at least in the tape entrance side thereby facilitating prevention of tape squeaking (third embodiment), to increase the height of one of the projecting stripe portions in the vicinity of head mounting position compared to that of the other stripe portion thereby preventing one-sided abrasion of the tape-gliding face (fourth embodiment), and to form tape guide members on the magnetic head for guiding the magnetic tape closer to one of the projecting strip