This paper shows an experimental approach to the understanding system of natural language and pictorial patterns. The system is titles as ISOBAR (an Information understanding System Of BAsic weather Report). It can accept both linguistic and pictorial inputs. Also it produces either linguistic or pictorial, or both, output according to the commands which it received. The most remarkable point of the system is that the performance of the system is based on the semantic processing of the input. As ISOBAR's world is limited within the weather report of Japan and Far East Asian areas with associated weather charts, so the semantic background of the system is very narrow, and is quite a specific one. But the methodologies and algorithms in the system will be the first step for the embodiment of the more complicated and more general systems. ISOBAR has two operating modes in principle. One is the accumulation of meteorological information, and the other is its retrieval. According to the experimental outcomes, the performance of the system is almost good except for the picture processing procedures. Finally, the problems for the future research are remarked.

Surface damage to n-type silicon wafers induced by Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) with CF4 gas was evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Au/n-Si Schottky diodes fabricated on the damaged surface. The reaction products (SiF, SiF2, and SiF3) in the damaged layer were detected by XPS. Assuming the surface damage on a silicon wafer induced by RIE acts as a donor, the donor density was found to be about 21019 cm-3. The distribution of SiF3 and the donor density in the depth direction were almost equal. The thickness of the damaged layer was about 15 nm. These findings suggest that the donor in the damaged layer on a silicon surface induced by RIE may be SiF3.