Although the perception of gloss is based on human visual perception, some methods for extracting glossiness, in contrast to human ability, have been proposed involving curved surfaces. Glossiness defined in these methods, however, does not correspond with psychological glossiness perceived by the human eye over the wide range from relatively low gloss to high gloss. In addition, the obtained glossiness in these methods changes remarkably when the curvature radius of the high-gloss object becomes larger than 10mm. In reality, psychological glossiness does not change. These methods, furthermore, are available only for spherical objects. A new method for extracting glossiness is proposed in this study. For the new definition of glossiness, a spatial filter which simulates human retina function is utilized. The light intensity distribution of the curved object is convoluted with the spatial filter. The maximum value Hmax of the convoluted distribution has a high correlation with psychological glossiness Gph. From the relationship between Gph and Hmax, new glossiness Gf is defined. The gloss-extraction equipment consists of a light source, TV camera, an image processor and a personal computer. Cylinders with the curvature radii of 3-30 mm are used as the specimens in addition to spherical balls. In all specimens, a strong correlation, with a correlation coefficient of more than 0.97, has been observed between Gf and Gph over a wide range. New glossiness Gf conforms to Gph even if the curvature radius in more than 10 mm. Based on these findings, it is found that this method for extracting glossiness is useful for the extraction of glossiness of spherical and cylindrical objects over a wide range from relatively low gloss to high gloss.

The main problem in statistical pattern recognition is to design a classifier. Many researchers point out that a finite number of training samples causes the practical difficulties and constraints in designing a classifier. However, very little is known about the performance of a classifier in small training sample size situations. In this paper, we compare the classification performance of the well-known classifiers (k-NN, Parzen, Fisher's linear, Quadratic, Modified quadratic, Euclidean distance classifiers) when the number of training samples is small.

An eye-contact technique using a blazed half-transparent mirror (BHM) is developed. This half-transparent mirror (HM) consists of an in-line array of many slanting micro-HMs. We fabricated a prototype system and confirmed the principle of this technique. The resolution of an image reflected by a BHM was simulated to determine how to improve the image quality and the factors degrading the resolution were clarified.

A family of new generalized LR parsing algorithms are proposed which make use of a set of ancestors tables introduced by Kipps. As Kipps's algorithm does not give us a method to extract any parsing results, his algorithm is not considered as a practical parser but as a recognizer. In this paper, we will propose two methods to extract all parse trees from a set of ancestors tables in the top vertices of a graph-structured stack. For an input sentence of length n, while the time complexity of the Tomita parser can exceed O(n3) for some context-free grammars (CFGs), the time complexity of our parser is O(n3) for any CFGs, since our algorithm is based on the Kipps's recognizer. In order to extract a parse tree from a set of ancestors tables, it takes time in order n2. Some preliminary experimental results are given to show the efficiency of our parsers over Tomita parser.

This paper describes a new free-space optical switch structure based on cascaded beam shifters (each consists of a liquid-crystal polarization controller array and a birefringent plate). This structure comprises 2-input, 2-output switching elements that are locally connected by links. It is applicable to a variety of switching networks, such as a Clos network. The switching network based on this structure is an analog switch that is transparent to signal format, bit rate, and modulation type, so it can handle various types of optical signals. Theoretical feasibility studies indicate that compact large-scale switches (i.e., 100-1000 ports) with relay lens systems can be implemented using beam shifters with a 0.4-dB insertion loss and a 30-dB extinction ratio. Experimental feasibility studies indicate that a 1024-cell beam shifter module with a 0.5-dB insertion loss and a 23-dB extinction ratio is possible at present. An alignment-free assembly technique using precise alignment guides is also confirmed. An experimental 8-stage, 1024-input 256-output concentrator shows low insertion loss characteristics (6.8dB on average) owing to the low-loss beam shifters and the alignment-free assembly technique. Practical switching networks mainly require the improvement of the extinction ratio of the beam shifter module and the development of a fiber pig-tailing technique. This switch structure is applicable to transparent switching networks such as subscriber line concentrators and inter-module connectors.

Impact ionization () in two n+-n--n+ device structures is investigated. Data obtained from self-consistent Monte-Carlo (SCMC) simulations of the devices is used to show that the average energy () of only those high energy electrons contributing to is an appropriate variable for the modeling of . A transport model allowing one to calculate is derived from the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) and calibrated by the SCMC simulation results. The values of and the coefficient, αii, predicted by the proposed model are in good agreement with the Monte-Carlo data.

The performance of a drift-diffusion device simulator using massively parallel processors is improved by modifying the preconditioner for the iterative solver and by improving the initial guess for the Newton loop. A grid-to-processor mapping scheme is presented to implement the partitioned natural ordering preconditioner on the CM-5. A new preconditioner called the block partitioned natural ordering, which may include fill-ins, improves performance in terms of CPU time and convergence behavior on the CM-5. A multigrid discretization to implement a block Newton initial guess routine is observed to decrease the CPU time by a factor of two. Extensions of the initial guess routine show further reduction in the final fine grid linear iterations.

This paper briefly reviews recent studies on free-space photonic switches, and discusses classifications, applications and technical issues to be solved. The free-space photonic switch is a switch that uses light beam interconnections based on free-space optics instead of guided-wave optics. A feature of the free-space switch is its high-density three-dimensional structure that enables compact large-scale switches to be created. In this paper, the free-space switches are classified by their various attributes such as logical network configuration, path-establishment method, number of physical stages, signal-waveform transmission form, interconnection optics and so on. The logical network configuration (topological geometry or topology) is strongly related to the advantages of the free-space switches over the guided-wave switches. The path-establishment method (path-shifting/branching-and-gating) and the number of physical stages (single-stage/multistage) are related to physical switching characteristics. Signal-waveform transmission form (analog/digital) is related to switch application. Interconnection optics (imaging system/micro-beam system) is related to the density and volume of the switching fabric. Examples of the free-space switches (single-stage, analog multistage, digital multistage and photonic ATM switches) are described. Possible applications for analog switches are subscriber-line concentrators, inter-module connectors, and switching networks for parallel or distributed computer systems. Those for digital switches include multistage space-division switches in time-division circuit-switching or packet switching systems (including asynchronous transfer mode [ATM] switching system) for both communications switching systems and parallel/distributed computer systems. Technical issues of the free-space switches (system, device, assembly technique) must be solved before creating practical systems. In particular, the assembly technique is a key issue of the free-space switches.

This paper presents a view on coming photonic network in which machines are potential customer to the network. The network will be providing unlimited number of virtual free spaces in which point to point and broadcasting modes of information interchanges are taking place simultaneously. It is also pointed out that the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) should be evolved to support this type of network by using true photonic switching technology.

A photonic network with a space- and frequency switching capability is proposed. It provides point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connections without internal blocking. The switching network exclusively uses frequency switching stages and a shared-medium architecture. Our proposal is compared with similar published networks which are either also constructed solely from frequency switching stages or from frequency and space switching stages. It is shown that the proposed switching network features fewer optical and opto-electronic components, fewer different types of component/module, lower losses, a higher capacity and an easier expansibility.

This paper describes Japanese spoken sentence recognition using hybrid language modeling, which combines the advantages of both syntactic and stochastic language models. As the baseline system, we adopted the HMM-LR speech recognition system, with which we have already achieved good performance for Japanese phrase recognition tasks. Several improvements have been made to this system aimed at handling continuously spoken sentences. The first improvement is HMM training with continuous utterances as well as word utterances. In previous implementations, HMMs were trained with only word utterances. Continuous utterances are included in the HMM training data because coarticulation effects are much stronger in continuous utterances. The second improvement is the development of a sentential grammar for Japanese. The sentential grammar was created by combining inter- and intra-phrase CFG grammars, which were developed separately. The third improvement is the incorporation of stochastic linguistic knowledge, which includes stochastic CFG and a bigram model of production rules. The system was evaluated using continuously spoken sentences from a conference registration task that included approximately 750 words. We attained a sentence accuracy of 83.9% in the speaker-dependent condition.

Numerical simulation of the hydrodynamic semiconductor device equations requires powerful numerical schemes. A Space-time Galerkin/Least-Squares finite element formulation, that has been successfully applied to problems of fluid dynamic, is proposed for the solution of the hydrodynamic device equations. Similarity between the equations of fluid dynamic and semiconductor devices is discussed. The robustness and accuracy of the numerical scheme are demonstrated with the example of a single electron carrier submicron silicon MESFET device.

Ice depolarization characteristics are discussed using cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) observations of the CS-2 beacon signal (19.45GHz, right-hand circular polarization, elevation angle of 49.5) in the stratus type rainfall events, which show a clear bright band in the simultaneous X-band radar observations. Both amplitude and phase of the mean ice depolarizations are deduced in each rainfall event by subtracting theoretical rain depolarizations from the observed values. In spite of the difference in rainfall rates on the ground, the inferred depolarizations indicate much the same amplitude and phase as those directly obtained in pure ice depolarization events without appreciable rain depolarizations. The origin of the ice depolarizations in the stratus type events, as well as in the pure ice events, seems to be ice crystals near the cloud top which are not very much concerned with the ground rainfall rates. Compared with the radar measurements above the bright band, the ice depolarizations are approximately proportional to the vertical length of the ice region at least up to 3km above the bright band. This result yields the equivalent "specific depolarization" per unit path length: |Ci|610-3km-1 (44dB in XPD) for the mean ice depolarizations in each event. Using this coefficient, the ice effects (XPD), which refer to the deviations of the observed depolarizations from the theoretical rain depolarization, are well described as a function of the height ratio of the ice region to the rain region in the stratus type events. Finally, the ice effects (XPD) are calculated against vertical lengths of the ice region in the case of specific rain heights of 2-4 km. These calculations are performed for various rainfall rates of 2-15mm/h in view of ground-based rain observations.

Material representations and algorithms are presented for simulation of nanometer lithography. Organic polymer resists are modeled as collections of overlapping spheres, with each sphere representing a polymer chain. Exposure and post-exposure bake steps are modeled at the nanometer scale for both positive and negative resists. The development algorithm is based on the Poisson removal probability for each sphere in contact with developer. The Poisson removal rate for a given sphere is derived from a mass balance relationship with a macroscopic development rate model. Simulations of electron beam lithography with (poly) methyl methacrylate and Shipley SAL-601 reveal edge roughness standard deviations from 2 to 3 nm, leading to linewidth peak-to-peak 3σ variation of 15 to 22 nm. Typical simulations require about 2 MBytes and under 5 minutes on a Sun Sparc 10/41 engineering workstation.

Naturalness of expressions reflects various pragmatic factors in addition to grammatical factors. In this paper, we discuss relations between expressions and two pragmatic factors: a point fo view of speaker and a hierarchical relation among participants. Degree of empathy" and class" is used to express these pragmatic factors as one-dimensional notion. Then inequalities and equalities of them become conditions for selecting natural expressions. The authors of this paper formulate conditions as principles about lexical and syntactical constraints, and have implemented a sentence generation grammar using the unification grammar formalism.

The power transfer characteristics of a symmetric nonlinear directional coupler (NLDC) are analyzed rigorously using the beam propagation method based on the finite difference scheme. The NLDC consists of two linear waveguides separated by a Kerr-like nonlinear gap layer. The change of nonlinear refractive index along the coupler is precisely evaluated by making use of the second-order iteration procedure with respect to a small propagation length. For the incidence of TE0 mode of the isolated linear waveguide, the highly accurate numerical results are obtained for the behavior of power transfer, and the coupling length and critical power for optical switching. The dependencies of the coupling length and critical power on the width of the gap layer and the input power levels are discussed, compared with those predicted by the coupled-mode approximations.

Directional dry etching of Tantalum is described X-ray lithography absorber patterns. Experiments are carried out using both reactive ion etching in CBrF3-based plasma and electron-cyclotron-resonance ion-stream etching in Cl2-based plasma. Ta absorber patterns with perpendicular sidewalls cannot be obtained by RIE when only CBrF3 gas is used as the etchant. While adding CH4 to CBrF3 effectively improves the undercutting of Ta patterns, it deteriorates etching stability because of the intensive deposition effect of CH4 fractions. By adding an Ar/CH4 mixture gas to CBrF3, it is possible to use RIE to fabricate 0.2-µm Ta absorber patterns with perpendicular sidewalls. ECR ion-stream etching is investigated to obtain high etching selectivity between Ta and SiO2 (etching mask)/SiN (membrane). Adding O2 to the Cl2 etchant improves undercutting without remarkably decreasing etching selectivity. Furthermore, an ECR ion-stream etching method is developed to stably etch Ta absorber patterns finer than 0.2µm. This is successfully applied to X-ray lithography mask fabrication for LSI test devices.

It has been 15 years since we started producing the electric double-layer capacitors (also known as Super Capacitor) in 1978. Over the years we have introduced improvements that increased reliability and increased life. For example, after subjecting capacitors manufactured in 1984 and 1990 to load life tests (70, 5.5 V) for 2,000 hours, we discovered that the rate of change in capacitance (ΔC/C) of capacitors manufactured in 1990 was less than one-half that of capacitors manufactured in 1984. This shows that we have successfully increased the life of our electric double-layer capacitors. We conducted investigations regarding factors that contribute to volume of the electrolyte solution and better sealing properties. In the load life test, we observed that when the ratio of the weights of the electrolyte solution and the powdered activated carbon (hereinafter referred to as LB) was increased, the time it took before ΔC/C reached -30% was lengthened. This means that increasing LB also increases life. Furthermore, we also observed that when the gas permeability rate of the collector's rubber material was decreased in the load life test (70, 5.5 V), the time it took befor (ΔC/C) reached -30% was longer. Therefore life is dependent on the gas permeability rate (sealing property) of the collector rubber.

This paper presents two approaches for computing the reliability of complex networks subject to two kinds of failure, open failure and shorted failure. The reliabilities of some series-parallel networks are considered by many analysts. However a practical system is more complex. The methods given in this paper can be applied not only to a series-parallel network but also to a non-series-parallel network which is composed of non-identical and independent components subject to two kinds of failure. This paper also deals with a network subject to flow quantity constraint such as the one which is required to control j or more separate paths. For such a system it is difficult to obtain system reliability because the number of states to be considered in this system is extremely large compared to a conventional 2-state device system. In this paper we obtain the reliabilities for such systems by a combinatorial approach and by a simulation approach.

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is an important measure of practical repairable systems, but it has not been obtained for a repairable linear consecutive-k-out-of-n: F system. We first present a general formula for the (steady-state) availability of a repairable linear consecutive-k-out-of-n: F system with nonidentical components by employing the cut set approach or a topological availability method. Second, we present a general formula for frequency of system failures of a repairable linear consecutive-k-out-of-n: F system with nonidentical components. Then the MTBF for the repairable linear consecutive-k-out-of-n: F system is shown by using the frequency of system failure and availability. Lastly, we derive some figures which show the relationship between the MTBF and repair rate µorρ(=λ/µ) in the repairable linear consecutive-k-out-of-n: F system. The figures can be easily used and are useful for reliability design.