Abstract: An acoustic wave acquiring apparatus is used that includes: an array light source including a plurality of elements emitting measurement light; a controller controlling the wavelength of the measurement light, for each of or the plurality of elements; a Fabry-Perot interferometer including a first mirror upon which the measurement light is incident and a second mirror upon which an acoustic wave from a subject is incident; an optical sensor measuring a light quantity of reflected light by the first and the second mirror; and a processor acquiring an intensity of the acoustic wave on the basis of a change of the light quantity of the reflected light, which is a distance between the first mirror and the second mirror, occurring due to the incidence of the acoustic wave.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to form a toner image onto a recording medium by transferring the toner image directly or indirectly onto the recording medium, the image forming device including a developer to develop a latent image formed on an image carrier into the toner image; and a controller to control the image forming device. The controller determines whether a first estimated time period is greater than a first predetermined time period, the first estimated time period being a time period from a time when image formation of one page of the image completes to an estimated time when image formation of a subsequent page of the image will start; and stops operating the developer based on a determination indicating that the first estimated time period is greater than the first predetermined time period.

Abstract: A light source includes an upper electrode layer, a lower electrode layer, and an active layer interposed therebetween. At least one of the upper and lower electrode layers is divided into a plurality of electrodes separated from each other in an in-plane direction of the active layer. The separated electrodes independently inject current into a plurality of different regions in the active layer. The light source emits light by injecting current from the upper and lower electrode layers into the active layer, guide the light in the in-plane direction, and output the light. The plurality of different regions in the active layer include a first region not including a light exit end and a second region including the light exit end, and the second region is configured to emit light of at least first-order level. The active layer has an asymmetric multiple quantum well structure.

Abstract: A surface emitting laser includes a lower reflector, an active layer, a gap portion, an upper reflector, and a driving unit. The lower reflector, the active layer, the gap portion, and the upper reflector are arranged in that order. The surface emitting laser is capable of varying a wavelength of emitted light by changing a distance between the upper and lower reflectors. The driving unit moves one of the upper and lower reflectors in an optical axis direction of the emitted light. At least one of the upper and lower reflectors includes a stacked body in which first layers and second layers are alternately stacked, the second layers having a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the first layers, outermost layers of the stacked body being the first layers, and a third layer provided on at least one end of the stacked body.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming device to form a toner image onto a recording medium by transferring the toner image directly or indirectly onto the recording medium, the image forming device including a developing unit to develop a latent image formed on an image carrier into the toner image; and a controller to control the image forming device.

Abstract: The present invention provides a light emitting device which emit light having a high-order level without increasing a current injection density to an active layer. A light emitting device according to the present invention includes an upper electrode layer, a lower electrode layer, and an active layer provided between them. In this case, light is emitted by injection of electric current to the active layer through the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer, the active layer has a plurality of quantum-confined structures, and a first quantum-confined structure has a ground level having an energy level E0 and a high-order level having an energy level E1, and a second quantum-confined structure has an energy level E2 which is higher than the E0, and the E1 and the E2 are substantially matched.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes a sheet skew corrector to correct a skew of a leading end of a sheet inclining from a sheet conveyance direction and a pair of registration rollers disposed upstream of the sheet skew corrector in the sheet conveyance direction. The pair of registration rollers freely contacts and separates from each other. The pair of registration rollers conveys the sheet downstream of the sheet skew corrector in the sheet conveyance direction when driven at a prescribed time. A pair of conveyance rollers is placed upstream of the pair of registration rollers in the sheet conveyance direction. The pair of conveyance rollers continuously sandwiches the sheet from when the sheet with the skew corrected is sandwiched by the pair of registration rollers to when a trailing end of the sheet passes between the pair of conveyance rollers.

Abstract: An optical amplifying element includes: a pair of reflectors that constitutes a cavity; an active layer disposed between the pair of reflectors; and an excitation unit configured to excite the active layer, wherein the active layer excited by the excitation unit amplifies intensity of a laser beam that enters the optical amplifying element when the laser beam reflects back and forth within the cavity, and wherein the pair of reflectors is configured to change a length of the cavity according to a wavelength of the laser beam.

Abstract: Provided is a photonic device in which emission intensity in a short wavelength region is suppressed even in the case of increasing carrier injection density so as to obtain a wide spectrum half-maximum width as well as a high output. The photonic device includes: a first cladding layer; a second cladding layer; and an active layer including an emitting layer and a barrier layer and being provided between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer, the emitting layer emitting light in a spectrum having a center wavelength ?c and a spectrum half-maximum width ??, in which at least one of the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer includes a light absorbing part for absorbing light having a wavelength of ?s or less represented by the following Expression (1): ?s<(?c?(??/2))??(1).

Abstract: A ceramic core includes an axial core part extended in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of flanges located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the axial core part and projecting around the periphery of the axial core part in the height and width directions. The ceramic core has a length dimension L in the longitudinal direction of about 0 mm<L?1.1 mm. A ratio t/T of the thickness dimension t in the height direction of the axial core part to the height dimension T in the height dimension of the flanges, is about 0<t/T?0.6. A ratio w/W of the width dimension w in the width direction of the axial core part to the width dimension W in the width direction of the flanges, is about 0<w/W?0.6.

Abstract: A ceramic core, which is made of a ferrite material including Ni and Zn, includes an axial core extending in a length direction and a pair of flange portions disposed at both ends of the axial core in the length direction. The dimension L of the ceramic core in the length direction satisfies 0 mm<L?1.1 mm. The surface roughness of a ridge portion of the axial core is less than or equal to 2.5 ?m.

Abstract: Before a sample is pierced with a probe of a PESI ion source, a total ion current is measured under a condition with no voltage applied from a high voltage generator to the probe as well as under a condition with the voltage applied. If the probe is properly attached to the holder, a considerable difference in total ion current occurs between the period with no voltage applied and the period with the voltage applied. By comparison, if the probe is improperly attached, no significant difference in the total ion current occurs between the period with no voltage applied and the period with the voltage applied. Referring to a threshold determined under the normal condition, a probe attachment checker detects an insufficient attachment of the probe by checking the difference in the total ion current, and displays an error message on a display unit if an improper attachment is detected.

Abstract: A surface emitting laser includes a lower reflector, an active layer, a gap portion, and an upper reflector, which are arranged in that order, and a driving unit. The surface emitting laser is capable of varying a wavelength of emitted light by changing a distance between the upper and lower reflectors. The driving unit moves one of the upper and lower reflectors in an optical axis direction of the emitted light. When ?g is a wavelength at which a gain at a time of laser oscillation of the active layer is at a maximum, ?0 is a center wavelength of the emitted light, and ?r is a wavelength at which a reflectance of one of the upper and lower reflectors from which the light is emitted is at a maximum, ?r <?0 <?g or ?g <?0 <?r is satisfied.

Abstract: An optical amplifying element includes: a pair of reflectors that constitutes a cavity; an active layer disposed between the pair of reflectors; and an excitation unit configured to excite the active layer, wherein the active layer excited by the excitation unit amplifies intensity of a laser beam that enters the optical amplifying element when the laser beam reflects back and forth within the cavity, and wherein the pair of reflectors is configured to change a length of the cavity according to a wavelength of the laser beam.

Abstract: The present invention provides a light emitting device which emit light having a high-order level without increasing a current injection density to an active layer. A light emitting device according to the present invention includes an upper electrode layer, a lower electrode layer, and an active layer provided between them. In this case, light is emitted by injection of electric current to the active layer through the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer, the active layer has a plurality of quantum-confined structures, and a first quantum-confined structure has a ground level having an energy level E0 and a high-order level having an energy level E1, and a second quantum-confined structure has an energy level E2 which is higher than the E0, and the E1 and the E2 are substantially matched.

Abstract: A wavelength tunable laser device, including: a first reflector; a second reflector; an active layer formed between the first reflector and the second reflector; a quantum well structure layer that exhibits a quantum confined stark effect; and an electrode configured to apply a reverse bias voltage to the quantum well structure layer, wherein the active layer and the second reflector have a gap formed therebetween, the gap having a length to be changed to thereby sweep a resonance wavelength, and wherein the electrode is further configured to change application of the reverse bias voltage to be applied to the quantum well structure layer depending on the length of the gap when the resonance wavelength is swept.

Abstract: A light source includes a control unit that controls currents injected into at least one light emitting region and a light emission spectrum conversion region. The at least one light emitting region includes a first light emitting region and a second light emitting region different from the first light emitting region, light that is emitted from the first light emitting region and passes through the light emission spectrum conversion region is combined with the light that is emitted from the first or second light emitting region and does not pass through the light emission spectrum conversion region. The control unit controls the currents injected into the light emission spectrum conversion region and the first light emitting region so that the current density of the light emission spectrum conversion region is smaller than the current density of the first light emitting region.

Abstract: A wavelength tunable laser device, including: a first reflector; a second reflector; an active layer formed between the first reflector and the second reflector; a quantum well structure layer that exhibits a quantum confined stark effect; and an electrode configured to apply a reverse bias voltage to the quantum well structure layer, wherein the active layer and the second reflector have a gap formed therebetween, the gap having a length to be changed to thereby sweep a resonance wavelength, and wherein the electrode is further configured to change application of the reverse bias voltage to be applied to the quantum well structure layer depending on the length of the gap when the resonance wavelength is swept.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes a sheet skew corrector to correct a skew of a leading end of a sheet inclining from a sheet conveyance direction and a pair of registration rollers disposed upstream of the sheet skew corrector in the sheet conveyance direction. The pair of registration rollers freely contacts and separates from each other. The pair of registration rollers conveys the sheet downstream of the sheet skew corrector in the sheet conveyance direction when driven at a prescribed time. A pair of conveyance rollers is placed upstream of the pair of registration rollers in the sheet conveyance direction. The pair of conveyance rollers continuously sandwiches the sheet from when the sheet with the skew corrected is sandwiched by the pair of registration rollers to when a trailing end of the sheet passes between the pair of conveyance rollers.

Abstract: A signs-of-deterioration detector for a semiconductor laser includes a first light receiving section that acquires first information relating to an optical output of the semiconductor laser and a second light receiving section that acquires second information relating to an intensity distribution of the emission pattern below the lasing threshold of the semiconductor laser. The detector also includes a holding section that holds the first information and the second information at a predetermined time point T1. The detector further includes a deciding section that decides the presence or absence of signs of rapid decrease of the optical output of the semiconductor laser by comparing the first information and the second information at at least one time point Tn (T1<Tn), with those at the time point T1.