Abstract: A vacuum cleaner includes a main body having an electric blower for generating a suction air flow, a dirt collecting case for centrifugally separating and collecting dirt, and a compression assembly for compressing dirt collected in the dirt collecting case to reduce a volume thereof. The dirt collecting case has a separation chamber for centrifugally separating dirt from the dirt containing air and a dirt collecting chamber in communication with the separation chamber for accumulating the dirt separated by the separation chamber. The compression assembly has a first air intake member provided in the separation chamber and communicating with the electric blower, a second air intake member provided in the dirt collecting chamber and communicating with the electric blower, a shielding plate for selectively opening the first and the second air intake member and an actuator for driving the shielding plate.

Abstract: A vacuum cleaner includes a main body accommodating therein an electric blower and a dust-removal driving body; and a filter unit including a frame body where a filter for collecting dust particles is installed and a dust removing plate provided at a downstream side of the filter, one end of the dust removing plate being fixed at the frame body. The other end of the dust removing plate is struck in an air flow direction by means related with driving the dust-removal driving body, thereby transmitting an impact on the frame body with a repulsive force thereof.

Abstract: A polishing apparatus includes an arrangement of a plurality of units to deal with various operations and a robot having at least one arm. The plurality of units are disposed around the robot and include a loading unit for receiving thereon a, e.g. dry, workpiece to be polished, a polishing system including at least one polishing unit for polishing the workpiece, a washing system and a drying system at least including one washing unit for washing and drying the polished workpiece, and an unloading unit for receiving thereon a resultant clean and dry polished workpiece.

Abstract: A polishing apparatus includes an arrangement of a plurality of units to deal with various operations and a robot having at least one arm. The plurality of units are disposed around the robot and include a loading unit for receiving thereon a, e.g. dry, workpiece to be polished, a polishing system including at least one polishing unit for polishing the workpiece, a washing system and a drying system at least including one washing unit for washing and drying the polished workpiece, and an unloading unit for receiving thereon a resultant clean and dry polished workpiece.

Abstract: Dicing tape comprises a tackifiable adhesive layer which is composed mainly of a polyimide and has a peel strength of 0.02 N/mm (20 gf/cm) or greater as the adhesive strength at near room temperature (20-50° C.) and a cured peel strength of 0.3 N/mm (300 gf/cm) or greater. The tape exhibits adhesive strength with silicon wafers sufficiently high to allow dicing at near room temperature, and also exhibits high adhesive strength with circuit boards after curing, in light of the processing disadvantages of polyimide-based dicing tape resulting from its low tacky strength (initial adhesive strength) at low temperatures of around room temperature, which requires a higher ambient temperature to increase the adhesive force and thus necessitates supplementary heating equipment.

Abstract: A device 1 for measuring a mass comprises a vibrator 2, driving means 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D for exciting a basic vibration in the vibrator 2, detecting means 4A, 4B for detecting a displacement of vibration in the vibrator 2 and an adsorption film 5 capable of adsorbing a substance for detection. The mass is measured based on a difference between a detected value of the displacement of vibration obtained from the detecting means 4A, 4B when the mass is not measured and a detected value of the displacement of vibration obtained from the detecting means 4A, 4B when the mass is measured.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel structure of supporting a vibrator having a terminal for electrical connection so that the vibrator can be miniaturized, and the driving impedance can be made constant in a wide temperature range to reduce the temperature drift. The structure has a substrate and bonding wires 45, 46 supported on the surface of the substrate and to be connected with the vibrator. The vibrator is supported with the bonding wire so that the vibrator is not directly contacted with the substrate. The bonding wire is electrically connected with the terminal. The resonance frequency “fr” of the supporting structure, the driving frequency “fd” for the vibrator and the detuning “&Dgr;f” satisfy the following formula.

Abstract: A process for packaging an electronic device employs an insulating protective resin layer produced from one or more of the resin compositions: (1) 100 parts of an organic solvent-soluble resin having a polysiloxane skeleton and a polar group, 0.5 to 30 parts of an epoxy compound having an epoxy equivalent of more than 800, and an organic solvent; (2) 100 parts of an organic solvent-soluble resin having a polysiloxane skeleton and a polar group, 0.1 to 10 parts of an epoxy compound having an epoxy equivalent of 100 to 800, 2 to 30 weight parts of a polyvalent isocyanate compound, and an organic solvent; and (3) 100 parts of an organic solvent-soluble resin having a polysiloxane skeleton and a polar group, 0.1 to 20 parts of an epoxy compound having an epoxy equivalent of more than 800, 2 to 30 parts of a polyvalent isocyanate compound, and an organic solvent.

Abstract: A process management system in accordance with the present invention includes inspection apparatuses for inspecting defects on a wafer, the inspection apparatuses being connected through a communication network, inspection information and image information obtained from these inspection apparatuses being collected to construct a data base and an image file, therein definition of defects is given by combinations of elements which characterize the defect based on the inspection information and the image information obtained from the inspection apparatuses. By giving definition of the defect, characteristics of the defect can be subdivided and known. Therefore, the cause of a defect can be studied.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an ink which can dispense with complicated and highly expensive steps, as required in the case of using a photosensitive resin composition, such as coating step, exposure step, development step, washing step and drying or heat-treatment step, and can produce printed matter comprising a cured coating film having a fine pattern on a substrate by a simple method of printing the ink by screen printing and then heat-treating it, without generating a large amount of waste solutions, including an alkali solution, accompanying the development or washing.

Abstract: An angular velocity measuring apparatus for detecting an angular velocity of a rotation about a rotation axis including a vibration element, a semiconductor integrated circuit chip for processing signals supplied to and from the vibration element and a circuit board on which the semiconductor integrated circuit chip is mounted, and the vibration element is mounted on the semiconductor integrated circuit chip by means of a supporting member including a metal support rod and an adhesive layer. The vibration element and semiconductor integrated circuit chip are arranged to be overlapped with each other viewed in a direction of the rotation axis and are arranged substantially in parallel with each other in planes which are substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis.

Abstract: Dicing tape comprises a tackifiable adhesive layer which is composed mainly of a polyimide and has a peel strength of 0.02 N/mm (20 gf/cm) or greater as the adhesive strength at near room temperature (20-50° C.) and a cured peel strength of 0.3 N/mm (300 gf/cm) or greater. The tape exhibits adhesive strength with silicon wafers sufficiently high to allow dicing at near room temperature, and also exhibits high adhesive strength with circuit boards after curing, in light of the processing disadvantages of polyimide-based dicing tape resulting from its low tacky strength (initial adhesive strength) at low temperatures of around room temperature, which requires a higher ambient temperature to increase the adhesive force and thus necessitates supplementary heating equipment.

Abstract: The present invention provides data analysis stations respectively for a probing tester and an automatic particle inspection machine. And, in the data analysis station, the coordinates on which the disposition of the chips are described on a product basis are equal to those on which the locations of the defects are described. Further, the station provides a function of determining which of the chips each defect belongs to. These data analysis stations are connected through a communication line. The present invention is capable of analyzing the data on a chip basis, resulting in being able to grasp the relation between how the defects are caused on each chip and the product character of the chip.

Abstract: A polishing apparatus includes an arrangement of a plurality of units to deal with various operations and a robot having at least one arm. The plurality of units are disposed around the robot and include a loading unit for receiving thereon a, e.g. dry, workpiece to be polished, a polishing system including at least one polishing unit for polishing the workpiece, a washing system and a drying system at least including one washing unit for washing and drying the polished workpiece, and an unloading unit for receiving thereon a resultant clean and dry polished workpiece.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel system for supporting a vibrator having a terminal for electrical connection so that the vibrator may be miniaturized and the deviation of vibration property among vibrators mounted on the supporting systems may be prevented. The supporting system has a substrate 11 and bonding wires 9, 10 supported on the substrate 11 and to be joined with a vibrator 1. The vibrator 1 is supported with the bonding wires 9, 10 so that the vibrator 1 does not directly contact the substrate 11 and bonding wires 9, 10 are electrically connected with a terminal 6 of the vibrator 1.

Abstract: A process management system in accordance with the present invention includes inspection apparatuses for inspecting defects on a wafer, the inspection apparatuses being connected through a communication network, inspection information and image information obtained from these inspection apparatuses being collected to construct a data base and an image file, therein definition of defects is given by combinations of elements which characterize the defect based on the inspection information and the image information obtained from the inspection apparatuses. By giving definition of the defect, characteristics of the defect can be subdivided and known. Therefore, the cause of a defect can be studied.

Abstract: A polishing apparatus includes an arrangement of a plurality of units to deal with various operations and a robot having at least one arm. The plurality of units are disposed around the robot and include a loading unit for receiving thereon a, e.g. dry, workpiece to be polished, a polishing system including at least one polishing unit for polishing the workpiece, a washing system and a drying system at least including one washing unit for washing and drying the polished workpiece, and an unloading unit for receiving thereon a resultant clean and dry polished workpiece.

Abstract: A process management system in accordance with the present invention includes inspection apparatuses for inspecting defects on a wafer, the inspection apparatuses being connected through a communication network, inspection information and image information obtained from these inspection apparatuses being collected to construct a data base and an image file, therein definition of defects is given by combinations of elements which characterize the defect based on the inspection information and the image information obtained from the inspection apparatuses. By giving definition of the defect, characteristics of the defect can be subdivided and known. Therefore, the cause of a defect can be studied.

Abstract: A workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer is supported on a top ring and polished by an abrasive cloth on a turntable while the top ring is being pressed against the turntable and the turntable and the top ring are being rotated. The top ring is coupled to a top ring drive shaft, coupled to a pressure cylinder for pressing the top ring, and to a motor for rotating the top ring. A spherical bearing is interposed between the top ring and the top ring drive shaft for allowing the top ring to align with the upper surface of the moving turntable. A torque transmitting mechanism is operatively coupled between the top ring and the top ring drive shaft for rotating the top ring in synchronization with the top ring drive shaft.

Abstract: A turntable with an abrasive cloth mounted thereon and a top ring positioned above the turntable are independently rotatably provided. The top ring holds a workpiece to be polished and presses the workpiece against the abrasive cloth. The turntable and the top ring are rotated to polish the surface of the workpiece to a flat mirror finish on the abrasive cloth. A rotatable brush pressed against the abrasive cloth is rotated about an axis substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the abrasive cloth, and oscillated substantially radially between radially inner and outer positions over the abrasive cloth. A cleaning solution is sprayed from a nozzle onto the abrasive cloth. The turntable has a bank along an outer circumferential edge thereto for preventing a protective solution, which is supplied to the abrasive cloth to keep the abrasive cloth wet and prevent it, from flowing off the turntable when the turntable is stationary.