Abstract: A photoacoustic apparatus includes a light source; a supporting member configured to support a receiving element that receives a photoacoustic wave generated through irradiation of a subject with light generated by the light source and that outputs a time-series reception signal; a control unit configured to set a plurality of measurement positions at which the supporting member is located when the subject is irradiated with the light at a plurality of timings; a moving unit configured to move the supporting member to the plurality of measurement positions; a signal data obtaining unit configured to generate reception signal data by reducing a data amount of the time-series reception signal in accordance with a measurement position among the measurement positions, and store the reception signal data; and an information obtaining unit configured to obtain information about the subject on the basis of the reception signal data.

Abstract: An axial flow compressor includes: a rotor having a rotor vane; a first pressing member joined to one end surface of the rotor; a second pressing member joined to the other end surface of the rotor; a rotor shaft portion penetrating the first pressing member, the rotor and the second pressing member; and a nut which fixes the first pressing member and the second pressing member on the rotor shaft portion with the first pressing member and the second pressing member holding the rotor between. The rotor shaft portion is made of a material having a lower linear expansion coefficient than that of a material making at least a part of the rotor. The material making at least a part of the rotor may be aluminum or aluminum alloy.

Abstract: Generally, a photoacoustic signal has a wavelength longer than a general ultrasonic signal. That is, it does not matter even if at the time of acquisition of the photoacoustic signal, an element pitch of a probe is several times as large as at the time of acquisition of the ultrasonic signal. Thus, at the time of acquisition of the photoacoustic signal, a plurality of neighboring elements in a receiving element array are collectively considered as one element, and a phasing process is performed. As a result, the same effect as a plurality of phasing addition circuits are disposed in parallel is obtained, and not only a phasing addition process of the photoacoustic signal but also image reconstruction can be performed in real time at a high speed.

Abstract: A stitch area configuration for word gates and control gates of a twin MONOS metal bit array comprises control gates on sidewalls of the word gates wherein the word gates and control gates run in parallel. Control gate poly contacts contact each of the control gates aligned in a row at the stitch area perpendicular to the control gates. Two word gate poly contacts at the stitch area contact alternating word gates. Also provided are bit lines, word line and control gate decoders and drivers, a bit line decoder, a bit line control circuit, and a chip controller to control the memory array. The invention also provides twin MONOS metal bit array operations comprising several control gates driven by one control gate driver circuit and one word gate driven by one word gate driver circuit, as well as erase inhibit and block erase.

Abstract: A stitch area configuration for word gates and control gates of a twin MONOS metal bit array comprises control gates on sidewalls of the word gates wherein the word gates and control gates run in parallel. Control gate poly contacts contact each of the control gates aligned in a row at the stitch area perpendicular to the control gates. Two word gate poly contacts at the stitch area contact alternating word gates. Also provided are bit lines, word line and control gate decoders and drivers, a bit line decoder, a bit line control circuit, and a chip controller to control the memory array. The invention also provides twin MONOS metal bit array operations comprising several control gates driven by one control gate driver circuit and one word gate driven by one word gate driver circuit, as well as erase inhibit and block erase.

Abstract: A specimen information acquisition apparatus includes a signal processor which can selectively operate in first and second modes. In the first mode, when a first group represents a group of devices among receiving devices and a second group represents at least a fraction of a group of devices other than the first group, a photoacoustic image and an ultrasonic image are obtained based on received signals from the first group and the second group, respectively. In the second mode, when a third group represents a group of devices having at least a fraction of a group of devices other than the first group and a fourth group represents at least a fraction of a group of devices other than the third group, a photoacoustic image and an ultrasonic image are obtained based on received signals from the third group and the fourth group, respectively.

Abstract: The condensing apparatus 71 includes: a compressor 10 which has a compression part 20 compressing a working fluid; a condenser 13 which condenses the working fluid compressed by the compression part 20; and a spray mechanism 81 including a nozzle 82 which sprays a cooling fluid into a fluid passage 91 to cool the working fluid flowing through the fluid passage 91 between a discharge opening CS2 of the compression part 20 and an inlet 13a of the condenser 13.

Abstract: A stitch area configuration for word gates and control gates of a twin MONOS metal bit array comprises control gates on sidewalls of the word gates wherein the word gates and control gates run in parallel. Control gate poly contacts contact each of the control gates aligned in a row at the stitch area perpendicular to the control gates. Two word gate poly contacts at the stitch area contact alternating word gates. Also provided are bit lines, word line and control gate decoders and drivers, a bit line decoder, a bit line control circuit, and a chip controller to control the memory array. The invention also provides twin MONOS metal bit array operations comprising several control gates driven by one control gate driver circuit and one word gate driven by one word gate driver circuit, as well as erase inhibit and block erase.

Abstract: An axial flow compressor includes: a rotor having a rotor vane; a first pressing member joined to one end surface of the rotor; a second pressing member joined to the other end surface of the rotor; a rotor shaft portion penetrating the first pressing member, the rotor and the second pressing member; and a nut which fixes the first pressing member and the second pressing member on the rotor shaft portion with the first pressing member and the second pressing member holding the rotor between. The rotor shaft portion is made of a material having a lower linear expansion coefficient than that of a material making at least a part of the rotor. The material making at least a part of the rotor may be aluminum or aluminum alloy.

Abstract: An axial flow compressor includes: an electric motor including a rotating shaft; a compression portion including a driving shaft connected without a speed-up gear to the rotating shaft of the electric motor and a rotor rotating together with the driving shaft, the compression portion driving the driving shaft and thereby compressing a working fluid; and a velocity reducing portion having a space for reducing the flow velocity of a working fluid discharged from a discharge opening of the compression portion. The rotating shaft of the electric motor is connected to the end of the driving shaft on the side of the discharge opening; and the velocity reducing portion is disposed so as to surround the electric motor.

Abstract: There is provided a subject information processing apparatus including a first acoustic conversion element that receives an acoustic wave having a first frequency reflected inside a subject and converts the acoustic wave into an analog signal, a second acoustic conversion element that receives an acoustic wave having a second frequency generated when light is irradiated to a subject and converts the acoustic wave into an analog signal, an A/D converter that converts the analog signal into a digital signal, a data memory that retains the digital signal, and a controller that instructs the data memory to output the digital signal at a predetermined sampling frequency for each receiving axis.

Abstract: A subject information acquisition apparatus includes: an acoustic wave detector which detects an acoustic wave which is generated from a subject by irradiating light and outputs a detection signal; an amplifier which amplifies the detection signal which is output from the acoustic wave detector; a gain control unit which changes a gain of the amplifier as time elapses, according to a gain control table, in order to correct a drop in intensity of the acoustic wave caused by attenuation of fluence inside the subject; and a signal processing unit which obtains information inside the subject based on the signal amplified by the amplifier. Measurement under a plurality of measurement conditions, where at least fluence distribution inside the subject or a position of the acoustic wave detector differs, is possible, and the gain control unit changes the gain control table according to the measurement conditions.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel read method of twin MONOS metal bit or diffusion bit structure for high-speed application. In a first embodiment of the present invention, the alternative control gates are set at the same voltage. In a second embodiment of the present invention, all the control gates are set at the operational voltage from the beginning. In both embodiments, the bit line and word gate are used to address the selected memory cell.

Abstract: Generally, a photoacoustic signal has a wavelength longer than a general ultrasonic signal. That is, it does not matter even if at the time of acquisition of the photoacoustic signal, an element pitch of a probe is several times as large as at the time of acquisition of the ultrasonic signal. Thus, at the time of acquisition of the photoacoustic signal, a plurality of neighboring elements in a receiving element array are collectively considered as one element, and a phasing process is performed. As a result, the same effect as a plurality of phasing addition circuits are disposed in parallel is obtained, and not only a phasing addition process of the photoacoustic signal but also image reconstruction can be performed in real time at a high speed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel operational method of twin MONOS metal bit or diffusion bit structure for high-speed application. In a first embodiment of the present invention, the alternative control gates are set at the same voltage. In a second embodiment of the present invention, all the control gates are set at the operational voltage from the beginning. In both embodiments, the bit line and word gate are used to address the selected memory cell.

Abstract: There is provided a received data processing apparatus of photoacoustic tomography including a minimum constitution unit data composition unit that sequentially reads receiving digital signals from first storage units and composes minimum constitution unit data of the acoustic wave of the minimum constitution units by performing a delay-and-sum process; a second storage unit that stores the minimum constitution unit data of the entire region of the specimen; an image construction unit that constructs an image of the specimen based on the minimum constitution unit data stored in the second storage unit; and a control unit that sequentially stores the minimum constitution unit data calculated by the minimum constitution unit data composition unit in the second storage unit and reads the stored minimum constitution unit data of the entire region of the specimen to transmit the minimum constitution unit data to the image construction unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel operational method of twin MONOS metal bit or diffusion bit structure for high-speed application. In a first embodiment of the present invention, the alternative control gates are set at the same voltage. In a second embodiment of the present invention, all the control gates are set at the operational voltage from the beginning. In both embodiments, the bit line and word gate are used to address the selected memory cell.

Abstract: A biological information processing apparatus includes: a light source 11 that irradiates light 12 to a light irradiation region 13A on a test object 13; an acoustic wave detector 17 that detects an acoustic wave 16 generated by a light absorber 15 in the test object upon its absorption of the light, and outputs a detection signal; and an electronic control system 18 having an amplifier that amplifies the detection signal outputted from the acoustic wave detector 17. The electronic control system controls a gain of the amplifier in such a manner that a gain for a detection signal of an acoustic wave generated at a first location in the test object becomes larger as compared with a gain for a detection signal of an acoustic wave generated at a second location which exists nearer to the light irradiation region than the first location does.

Abstract: A delay adjustment memory is shared by two signal processing channels, a signal in one signal processing channel having a smaller delay time of the two signal processing channels is adjusted in delay by the delay adjustment memory, and another signal in the other signal processing channel having a larger delay time is directly supplied to a subsequent calculation unit without passing through the delay adjustment memory, thereby performing the ultrasonic receiving beam forming processing.

Abstract: A reference circuit is described for creating a reference signal using a twin MONOS memory cell. A first portion of the twin MONOS memory cell connects to a charged and floating bit line a current source formed in a second portion of the twin MONOS cell that discharges the charged bit line to form a reference signal for a sense amplifier. The sense amplifier compares the reference signal to a signal from a selected memory cell upon which memory operations are being performed comprising read, erase verify and program verify.