Author: claimsbot

1. A method for decoding a received sequence of symbols of a frame using a turbo decoding process that comprises a plurality of decoder iterations, the method comprising:
determining whether a pre-determined decoder termination threshold metric has been met;
if the threshold metric has been met but only after a pre-determined number of decoder iterations marking the frame as potentially inaccurate for further processing and passing the frame for cyclic redundancy check testing, or if the threshold metric has been met before the pre-determined number of decoder iterations passing the frame unmarked for cyclic redundancy check testing;
only if the threshold metric has been met, determining whether a decoder termination test based on a cyclic redundancy check code has been passed; and
only if the cyclic redundancy check test has been passed, terminating the decoder iterations.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the threshold metric has been met comprises determining whether a cross-entropy between a distribution of log-likelihood ratios for each decoder iteration is less than a pre-determined cross-entropy threshold.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the threshold metric has been met comprises using a sign change ratio to monitor convergence of the decoding process.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the threshold metric has been met comprises using a sign difference ratio to monitor convergence of the decoding process.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the threshold metric has been met comprises using a hard-decision aided test.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the threshold metric has been met comprises using an average absolute log-likelihood ratio.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the threshold metric has been met comprises determining whether an absolute value of a smallest log-likelihood ratio is above a pre-determined absolute value threshold.
8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the sequence of symbols from a parallel turbo encoder.
9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the sequence of symbols from a serial turbo encoder.
10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the sequence of symbols from a transmitter comprising an encoder and a modulator.
11. A computer program product provided on a computer-readable medium and comprising program code means adapted to perform the method of claim 1.
12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises decoding symbols in a wireless cellular system.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the wireless cellular system comprises a W-CDMA transmitter and a W-CDMA receiver.
14. An apparatus for decoding a received sequence of symbols of a frame using a turbo decoding process that comprises a plurality of decoder iterations, the apparatus comprising:
a threshold metric processor for determining whether a pre-determined decoder termination threshold metric has been met;
a maximum iteration processor for if the threshold metric has been met but only after a pre-determined number of decoder iterations marking the frame as potentially inaccurate for further processing and for passing the frame for cyclic redundancy check testing at a cyclic redundancy check processor, or if the threshold metric has been met before the pre-determined number of decoder iterations for passing the frame unmarked for cyclic redundancy check testing at the cyclic redundancy check processor;
a cyclic redundancy check processor for determining, only if the threshold metric processor determines that the threshold metric has been met, whether a decoder termination test based on a cyclic redundancy check code has been passed; and
a decoder termination means for terminating the decoder iterations, only if the cyclic redundancy check test has been passed.
15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the threshold metric processor comprises means for determining whether a cross-entropy between a distribution of log-likelihood ratios for each decoder iteration is less than a pre-determined cross-entropy threshold.
16. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the threshold metric processor comprises means for using a sign change ratio to monitor convergence of the decoding process.
17. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the threshold metric processor comprises means for using a sign difference ratio to monitor convergence of the decoding process.
18. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the threshold metric processor comprises means for using a hard-decision aided test to monitor convergence of the decoding process.
19. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the threshold metric processor comprises means for using an average absolute log-likelihood ratio to determine whether the threshold metric has been met.
20. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the threshold metric processor comprises means for determining whether an absolute value of a smallest log-likelihood ratio is above a pre-determined absolute value threshold.
21. An apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising means for receiving the sequence of symbols from a parallel turbo encoder.
22. An apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising means for receiving the sequence of symbols from a serial turbo encoder.
23. An apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising means for receiving the sequence of symbols from a transmitter comprising an encoder and a modulator.
24. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the apparatus comprises a wireless cellular system.
25. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the apparatus comprises a W-CDMA transmitter and a W-CDMA receiver.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a capacitor having a tantalum oxide film as an insulating film, said method comprising:
vapor-phase depositing a tantalum oxide film on a lower electrically conductive film;
treating the tantalum oxide film with active oxygen species;
annealing the tantalum oxide film treated with the active oxygen species, at a temperature lower than a crystallization temperature of tantalum oxide by 10 C. to 80 C. in an inert atmosphere; and
forming an upper electrically conductive film on the annealed tantalum oxide film.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the said annealing is conducted at a temperature of about 620 C. to about 690 C.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said lower electrically conductive film is formed of a metal-based electrically conductive material.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said metal-based material is selected from ruthenium, tungsten, aluminium, platinum, tungsten nitride, titanium nitride, and titanium silicon nitride.
5. A method of manufacturing a capacitor having a tantalum oxide film as insulating film, said method comprising:
vapor-phase depositing a tantalum oxide film on a lower electrically conductive film;
annealing the tantalum oxide film at a temperature lower than a crystallization temperature of tantalum oxide by 10 C. to 80 C. in an inert atmosphere;
treating the annealed tantalum oxide film with active oxygen species; and
forming an upper electrically conductive film on the tantalum oxide film treated with the active oxygen species.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said annealing is conducted at a temperature of about 620 C. to about 690 C.
7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said lower electrically conductive film is formed of a metal-based electrically conductive material.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said metal-based material is selected from ruthenium, tungsten, aluminium, platinum, tungsten nitride, titanium nitride, and titanium silicon nitride.
9. A method of manufacturing a capacitor having a tantalum oxide film as insulating film, said method comprising:
a first vapor-phase deposition step of vapor-phase depositing a first tantalum oxide film on a lower electrically conductive film;
a first annealing step of annealing the first tantalum oxide film at a temperature lower than the crystallization temperature of tantalum oxide by 10 C. to 80 C. in an inert atmosphere;
a first treatment step of treating the annealed first tantalum oxide film with active oxygen species;
a second vapor-phase deposition step of vapor-phase depositing a second tantalum oxide film on the first tantalum oxide film treated with active oxygen species;
a second treatment step of treating the second tantalum oxide film with active oxygen species;
a second annealing step of annealing the second tantalum oxide film treated with the active oxygen species, within a temperature range between a temperature lower than the crystallization temperature of tantalum oxide by 10 C. to 80 C. and a temperature at which the tantalum oxide crystallizes, in an inert atmosphere; and
a step of forming an upper electrically conductive film on the annealed second tantalum oxide film;
wherein the step of forming the second tantalum oxide film, the subsequent second treatment with active species and the second annealing step are conducted sequentially at least once, before the formation of the upper conductive film.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said first annealing step is conducted at a temperature of about 620 C. to about 690 C.
11. The method according to claim 9, wherein said second annealing step is conducted at a temperature of about 650 C. to about 750 C.
12. The method according to claim 9, wherein said lower electrically conductive film is formed of a metal-based electrically conductive material.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said metal-based material is selected from ruthenium, tungsten, aluminium, platinum, tungsten nitride, titanium nitride, and titanium silicon nitride.
14. The method according to claim 9, wherein said step of forming the second tantalum oxide film, said second treatment with active species and said second annealing step are conducted sequentially twice or more.

1. A head-mounted display device, comprising:
a first casing which incorporates therein at least a display element, and has a light projection window for projecting image light from the display element;
a second casing which incorporates therein an eyepiece optical system with a refractive power, and has a light receiving window for receiving the incident image light projected through the light projection window and an eyepiece window for emitting the image light that has passed through the eyepiece optical system; and
a coupling portion for coupling the second casing to the first casing so as to make adjustable a length of an optical path between the light projection window and the light receiving window.
2. The head-mounted display device according to claim 1,
wherein the first casing is held, when in use, on the side of the head of a user so that the light projection window opens to the same side as the face of the user is directed; and
wherein the second casing is arranged, when in use, so that the light receiving window and the eyepiece window open to the face side of the user.
3. The head-mounted display device according to claim 1,
wherein the first casing has a guide outside a side surface of the first casing; and
wherein the coupling portion has a slide member which is provided to the second casing and to be guided along the guide so as to be slidably coupled to the first casing.
4. The head-mounted display device according to claim 3,
wherein the first casing and the second casing each have a light shielding member so as to shield external light entering the optical path between the light projection window and the light receiving window, across a slide range of the slide member.
5. The head-mounted display device according to claim 4,
wherein the slide member also serves as the light shielding member of the second casing.
6. The head-mounted display device according to claim 3,
wherein the slide member is provided so as to enclose the optical path between the light projection window and the light receiving window.
7. The head-mounted display device according to claim 4,
wherein the slide member is detachably attached to the first casing.
8. The head-mounted display device according to claim 1, further comprising a window member transparent with respect to image light from the display element, the window member being provided so as to cover in at least one of the light projection window and the light receiving window.
9. The head-mounted display device according to claim 1,
wherein the first casing is held, when in use, on the side of the head of the user so that the light projection window opens inward along the lateral direction with respect to the face of the user; and
wherein the second casing is arranged, when in use, so that the light receiving window opens outward along the lateral direction with respect to the face of the user and the eyepiece window opens to the face side of the user within a view field of an eyeball in the vicinity of the first casing, in front of the face of the user.
10. The head-mounted display device according to claim 1,
wherein the first casing is held, when in use, on the side of the head of the user so that the light projection window opens inward along the lateral direction with respect to the face of the user;
wherein the second casing is arranged, when in use, so that the light receiving window opens outward along the lateral direction with respect to the face of the user and the eyepiece window opens to the face side of the user; and
wherein the coupling portion couples the second casing to the first casing in such a manner that the second casing is slidable in the lateral direction with respect to the user.
11. The head-mounted display device according to claim 1,
wherein the eyepiece optical system has a positive refractive power and receives the image light incident from the display element, guides the image light to the front of an eyeball of a wearer, and emits the image light toward the eyeball, so as to make observable a virtual image formed by the image light;
wherein the head-mounted display device includes a slide operation portion which is provided so as to be slidable, with respect to the first casing, in an anteroposterior direction of the head of the wearer; and
wherein the slide operation portion is coupled to at least either the display element or an optical element in the eyepiece optical system in such a manner that the length of the optical path between the display element and the optical element is increased when the slide operation portion is slid in the anterior direction of the wearer.
12. The head-mounted display device according to claim 11,
wherein the display element is fixed to the first casing;
wherein the optical element is fixed to the second casing; and
wherein the slide operation portion is slidably provided to the first casing and coupled to the second casing so as to be attached to the optical element via the second casing.
13. The head-mounted display device according to claim 12,
wherein the slide operation portion is provided so as to be slidable across an outside surface of the first casing.
14. The head-mounted display device according to claim 13,
wherein the slide operation portion is provided so as to be slidable with respect to the first casing so that a virtual image can be observed in the line of sight that slopes downward within a view field of the wearer.
15. A head-mounted display device, comprising:
a display element;
a casing accommodating the display element;
an eyepiece optical system with a positive refractive power, which receives image light incident from the display element, guides the image light to the front of an eyeball of the wearer, and emits the image light toward the eyeball, so as to make observable a virtual image formed by the image light; and
a slide operation portion which is provided so as to be slidable, with respect to the casing, in the anteroposterior direction of the head of the wearer,
wherein the slide operation portion is coupled to at least either the display element or an optical element in the eyepiece optical system in such a manner that a length of an optical path between the display element and the optical element is increased when the slide operation portion is slid in the anterior direction of the wearer.
16. The head-mounted display device according to claim 15,
wherein the display element is fixed to the casing; and
wherein the optical element is coupled to the slide operation portion.
17. The head-mounted display device according to claim 16,
wherein the optical element includes a light guide member that has an incident plane for receiving the image light incident from the display element and an emitting plane for emitting the image light toward the eyeball of the wearer, the incident plane and the emitting plane being located on the near side in relation to the wearer.
18. The head-mounted display device according to claim 16,
wherein the casing has a first casing and a second casing;
wherein the display element is fixed to the first casing;
wherein the optical element is fixed to the second casing; and
wherein the slide operation portion is slidably provided to the first casing and coupled to the second casing so as to be attached to the optical element via the second casing.
19. The head-mounted display device according to claim 18, wherein the slide operation portion is provided so as to be slidable across an outside surface of the first casing.
20. The head-mounted display device according to claim 19, wherein the slide operation portion is provided so as to be slidable with respect to the first casing so that a virtual image can be observed in the line of sight that slopes downward within a view field of the wearer.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a ceramic sintered body having a different thickness along a predetermined axial direction, comprising the steps of:
providing a ceramic formed body having a dome shape including a projected upper surface and a concaved lower surface, and having a varying thickness along the predetermined axial direction;
accommodating the ceramic formed body in a hot press apparatus;
setting an upper forming mold and a lower forming mold each having a forming surface corresponding to an upper surface and a lower surface of the ceramic formed body;
applying a pressure along the predetermined axial direction of the ceramic formed body via the upper forming mold and the lower forming mold while heating the ceramic formed body to perform a hot press sintering thereof to thus form a ceramic sintered body; and
controlling a thickness of the ceramic sintered body in such a manner that a maximum thickness in the predetermined direction is not two times or more larger than a minimum thickness in the predetermined direction.
2. The method of manufacturing a ceramic sintered body according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the ceramic sintered body is continuously varied from the maximum thickness to the minimum thickness.
3. The method of manufacturing a ceramic sintered body according to claim 1, wherein the hot press sintering is performed after a metal member is embedded in the ceramic formed body to be sintered.
4. The method of manufacturing ceramic sintered bodies according to claim 3, wherein the metal member is preliminarily formed corresponding to the forming surface of the upper forming mold or the lower forming mold, and then the thus formed metal member is embedded in the ceramic formed body to be sintered.
5. The method of manufacturing a ceramic sintered body according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic sintered body is symmetric with respect to said predetermined axial direction.
6. The method of manufacturing a ceramic sintered body according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic sintered body comprises aluminum nitide.