Abstract: An optical device includes: a sealed container having edge walls facing each other in a thickness direction of the container and a side wall connecting both of the edge walls; a first liquid with polarity or electrical conductivity and sealed within the container; a second liquid that is sealed within the container and does not mixed with the first liquid; and a voltage applying unit for applying a voltage across the first liquid. The first liquid and the second liquid have equal specific gravity, and transmissivity of the first liquid is lower than the transmissivity of the second liquid. An interface between the first liquid and the second liquid changes shape in response to a voltage applied by the voltage applying unit. A light transmission path that passes through the edge walls and extends in a direction of the thickness of the container is formed.

Abstract: Rinsing nozzles 310a to 310e are moved on a wafer W while they are discharging rinsing solution 326. At that point, discharging openings 317a to 317e are contacted to developing solution 350 coated on the wafer W or rinsing solution 326 on the wafer W. Thus, the impact against the wafer W can be suppressed. As a result, pattern collapse can be prevented. In addition, a front portion of the developing solution 350 can push away the developing solution 350.

Abstract: The present invention is a processing unit for processing a substrate in a casing, having: a transfer port provided in the casing through which the substrate passes when the substrate is carried into the casing by a carrier for carrying the substrate; and an inflow restricting device for controlling an atmosphere outside the casing to restrict the atmosphere from flowing into the casing through the transfer port. According to the present invention, it is possible to control the atmosphere outside the casing to restrict the atmosphere from flowing into the casing, which restricts the temperature of the substrate in the processing unit from partially varying and the temperature distribution from becoming ununiform within a plane of the substrate.

Abstract: Disclosed here is a data processor provided with an addressing mode for calculating each effective address from the displacement (reference address) included in the subject instruction and the information retained in an index register allocated to a general-purpose register so as to minimize an increase of the logical/physical scale. The value in the index register is increased so as to be shifted according to the memory access size, for example, by one when the memory access size is byte and by two when the memory access size is word. Because both extension and shifting are included in the effective address calculation, the number of instructions, as well as the number of execution states are reduced. And, because the array size is smaller than the address space size, the upper part of each general-purpose register is used as a data register, thereby the data amount to be written in each general-purpose register is increased and the number of times for reading/writing from/in the subject memory is reduced.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to achieve fast data processing. A unit (FF) is included for selecting whether a central processing unit (CPU) performs instruction reading in units of 16 bits (a first word length) or in units of 32 bits (a second word length). Depending on whether instruction reading is performed in units of 16 bits or 32 bits, increment values (+2 and +4) by which a program counter (PC) is incremented are switched. Data reading or writing is performed in units of a given data length irrespective of the selecting unit. When the CPU issues a request for instruction reading in units of 16 bits or 32 bits or for data reading or writing, a bus control unit performs reading or writing a predetermined number of times according to a bus width designated for a resource located at an address specified in the request. The bus control unit causes the CPU to wait until an instruction of 16 or 32 bits long (read data) requested by the CPU gets ready.

Abstract: According to the present invention, in changing the concentration of a treatment solution supplied to a substrate, a volume of an existing treatment solution in a tank connected to a treatment solution supply section for supplying the treatment solution to the substrate is first measured. Based on this measured value, a minimum drain volume of the existing treatment solution to be drained out from the tank and a supply volume of either a treatment solution with a predetermined concentration or a diluting fluid to be supplied into the tank is calculated respectively in order to change the treatment solution in the tank to be in an intended volume and to have an intended concentration. Then, the calculated drain volume of the existing treatment solution is drained out from the tank. Meanwhile, the calculated supply volume of either the treatment solution with the predetermined concentration or the diluting fluid is supplied into the tank.

Abstract: The present invention is a processing unit for processing a substrate in a casing, having: a transfer port provided in the casing through which the substrate passes when the substrate is carried into the casing by a carrier for carrying the substrate; and an inflow restricting device for controlling an atmosphere outside the casing to restrict the atmosphere from flowing into the casing through the transfer port. According to the present invention, it is possible to control the atmosphere outside the casing to restrict the atmosphere from flowing into the casing, which restricts the temperature of the substrate in the processing unit from partially varying and the temperature distribution from becoming ununiform within a plane of the substrate.

Abstract: A process for producing captopril of the following formula (1) comprising subjecting a substrate compound of the following general formula (2) to a hydrolysis reaction in aqueous medium to remove the RCO group and isolating the product compound, said hydrolysis reaction in aqueous medium being conducted in the presence of a strong acid at pH not over 1 and a reaction temperature not below 40° C.

Abstract: A process solution supply system, comprising a process solution supply source from which a process solution is supplied, an intermediate storage mechanism for temporarily storing the process solution supplied from the process solution supply source and for supplying the process solution with predetermined pressure applied thereto, and a fluid supply mechanism for supplying the intermediate storage mechanism with a fluid which applies pressure to the process solution stored in the intermediate storage mechanism, the intermediate storage mechanism including a vessel which has an introduction port and a discharge port for the process solution, stores the process solution supplied through the introduction port and can discharge the process solution, and a compressing member, arranged inside the vessel to be located between the process solution and the fluid supplied from the fluid supply mechanism, for permitting pressure of the fluid to act on the process solution.

Abstract: A highly convenient and efficient process for economically producing in a high yield high-quality captopril which is remarkably reduced in the content of impurities and has a high melting point and intermediates for synthesizing the same which contain only a small amount of precursors as impurities and have excellent qualities. The process comprises subjecting an acid halide and an L-proline to the Schotten-Baumann reaction and eliminating the impurities formed as the by-products in the form of the precursors represented by general formula (5) or (6) by treating, during or after the Schotten-Baumann reaction, the aqueous medium solution with active carbon or crystallization followed by deacylation. In the formula, R.sup.1 represents acyl and n represents an integer of from 2 to 4.