Abstract: A method and apparatus for refining silicon which can remove impurity elements such as phosphorus and antimony as well as impurity elements such as boron and carbon using an electron beam in the same vacuum chamber are provided. Silicon is irradiated and melted with an electron beam in a low vacuum inside a vacuum vessel, a compound-forming substance such as H2O which reacts with boron or the like in the molten silicon and forms a vaporizable oxide is introduced into the vacuum chamber, and impurity elements such as boron having a low vapor pressure in a vacuum are evaporated from the molten silicon as part of the vaporizable compound. Silicon in the vacuum vessel is then irradiated with an electron beam in a high vacuum in the vacuum vessel, and impurity elements contained in the silicon having a high vapor pressure in a vacuum such as phosphorus are removed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for refining silicon which can remove impurity elements such as phosphorus and antimony as well as impurity elements such as boron and carbon using an electron beam in the same vacuum chamber are provided. Silicon is irradiated and melted with an electron beam in a low vacuum inside a vacuum vessel, a compound-forming substance such as H2O which reacts with boron or the like in the molten silicon and forms a vaporizable oxide is introduced into the vacuum chamber, and impurity elements such as boron having a low vapor pressure in a vacuum are evaporated from the molten silicon as part of the vaporizable compound. Silicon in the vacuum vessel is then irradiated with an electron beam in a high vacuum in the vacuum vessel, and impurity elements contained in the silicon having a high vapor pressure in a vacuum such as phosphorus are removed.

Abstract: A scheme for detecting telop character displaying frames in video image which is capable of suppressing erroneous detection of frames without telop characters due to instability of image features is disclosed. In this scheme, each input frame constituting the video data is entered, and whether each input frame is a telop character displaying frame in which telop characters are displayed or not is judged, according to edge pairs detected from each input frame by detecting each two adjacent edge pixels for which intensity gradient directions are opposite on some scanning line used in judging an intensity gradient direction at each edge pixel and for which an intensity difference between said two adjacent edge pixels is within a prescribed range as one edge pair, edge pixels being pixels at which an intensity value locally changes by at least a prescribed amount with respect to a neighboring pixel among a plurality of pixels constituting each input frame.

Abstract: A scheme for detecting telop character displaying frames in video image which is capable of suppressing erroneous detection of frames without telop characters due to instability of image features is disclosed. In this scheme, each input frame constituting the video data is entered, and whether each input frame is a telop character displaying frame in which telop characters are displayed or not is judged, according to edge pairs detected from each input frame by detecting each two adjacent edge pixels for which intensity gradient directions are opposite on some scanning line used in judging an intensity gradient direction at each edge pixel and for which an intensity difference between said two adjacent edge pixels is within a prescribed range as one edge pair, edge pixels being pixels at which an intensity value locally changes by at least a prescribed amount with respect to a neighboring pixel among a plurality of pixels constituting each input frame.

Abstract: A scheme for detecting telop character displaying frames in video image which is capable of suppressing erroneous detection of frames without telop characters due to instability of image features is disclosed. In this scheme, each input frame constituting the video data is entered, and whether each input frame is a telop character displaying frame in which telop characters are displayed or not is judged, according to edge pairs detected from each input frame by detecting each two adjacent edge pixels for which intensity gradient directions are opposite on some scanning line used in judging an intensity gradient direction at each edge pixel and for which an intensity difference between said two adjacent edge pixels is within a prescribed range as one edge pair, edge pixels being pixels at which an intensity value locally changes by at least a prescribed amount with respect to a neighboring pixel among a plurality of pixels constituting each input frame.