Patent Application
20190229220
The present invention relates to an image pickup device and a display device.
Improvement in moisture resistance is required in a device, such as a solid state image pickup device, which includes a plurality of layers. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-060203 discloses a configuration of a solid state image pickup device in which moisture resistance is improved. The solid state image pickup device of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-060203 includes a substrate in which an opening for an electrode is formed and a plurality of photodiodes are formed on a surface of the substrate. In order to improve moisture resistance at an interlayer boundary exposed from a side wall portion of the opening, a region in which the plurality of photodiodes are formed, the side wall portion of the opening, and a ceiling portion around the opening are covered by a single protective film. A transparent and moisture-resistant material is used as the protective film to thereby improve the moisture resistance of the solid state image pickup device.
Improvement in moisture resistance is also required in a display device which uses an organic light-emitting element disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-216495 and a solid state image pickup device which uses an organic photoelectric converting film disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-033979.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-060203
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-216495
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-033979
However, when a silicon oxide film, for example, is used as a protective film that covers a side wall portion vertical to the surface of a substrate, it is not possible to completely block entrance of moisture from the side wall portion. This is because water molecules or ions can enter an amorphous structure of the silicon oxide film. In particular, when a material component (for example, a dye-based material) sensitive to moisture is used as a color filter layer used in a solid state image pickup device, the moisture resistance performance of these materials is sometimes insufficient.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-060203 discloses a silicon nitride film as a protective film. However, although a silicon nitride film is more effective than a silicon oxide film from a perspective of preventing entrance of moisture from a side wall portion, when the silicon nitride film is stacked on a microlens layer formed in a pixel portion, the silicon nitride film may deteriorate optical characteristics of the solid state image pickup device. Since the deterioration in the optical characteristics results from reflection or refraction of light occurring due to a difference in refractive index between the microlens layer and the silicon nitride film, the deterioration may be structurally inevitable.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. An object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup device in which moisture resistance is improved without deteriorating optical characteristics.
The present invention provides an image pickup device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate including a pixel region in which pixels are arranged and a pad electrode region on which a pad electrode portion is disposed;
a wiring layer formed on the semiconductor substrate and including the pad electrode portion;
a planarizing layer formed on the wiring layer and formed in a portion upper than the pad electrode portion in the pad electrode region, the planarizing layer including an organic material; and
an inorganic film formed on the planarizing layer, wherein
an opening having a side wall portion is formed in the planarizing layer and the inorganic film so that an upper surface of the pad electrode portion is exposed, and
a metal film that covers at least a surface that forms the side wall portion of the planarizing layer is disposed in the opening.
The present invention also provides an image pickup device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate including a pixel region in which pixels are arranged and a pad electrode region on which a pad electrode portion is disposed; and
a photoelectric converting film formed on the semiconductor substrate and including an organic layer, wherein
an opening having a side wall portion is formed in the organic layer so that an upper surface of the pad electrode portion is exposed, and
a metal film that covers at least a surface that forms the side wall portion of the organic layer is disposed in the opening.
The present invention also provides a display device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate including a pixel region in which pixels are arranged and a pad electrode region on which a pad electrode portion is disposed; and
an organic layer serving as an illuminating layer, formed on the semiconductor substrate, wherein
an opening having a side wall portion is formed in the organic layer so that an upper surface of the pad electrode portion is exposed, and
a metal film that covers at least a surface that forms the side wall portion of the organic layer is disposed in the opening.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image pickup device in which moisture resistance is improved without deteriorating optical characteristics.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positional relationship, and the like of the components described herein may be appropriately changed depending on the structure of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments.
Although not illustrated in the drawing, an element separating region is disposed between adjacent second semiconductor regions 102 to electrically separate the second semiconductor regions 102. Insulation film separation such as LOCOS separation or STI separation and PN junction separation (diffusion separation) by a semiconductor region of the opposite conductivity type from the second semiconductor region 102 can be used in the element separating region. Although not illustrated in the drawing, a transfer transistor for transferring charges of the second semiconductor region is also disposed. Hereinafter, the solid state image pickup device will be depicted by dividing into three regions of a pixel region A1, a pad electrode region A2, and “scribing region and effective chip boundary portion” A3.
Reference numeral 103 indicates a wiring layer formed of a metal material or the like. Reference numeral 104 indicates an interlayer insulating film for electrically separating different wiring layers 103. Al, Cu, and the like can be used as a main component of a material that forms wirings of the wiring layer. Moreover, W can be used as a plug for connecting wiring layers. A wiring layer disposed at the farthest position from the semiconductor substrate will be referred to as an uppermost wiring layer 105. A passivation film 106 is formed so as to cover the uppermost wiring layer 105. A plasma nitride film, a plasma oxynitride film, or a laminated film thereof can be used as a material of the passivation film 106. Moreover, a structure called a moisture-resistant ring 103b homogeneous to the wiring layer 103 is disposed in a boundary portion between the scribing region and effective chip boundary portion A3 and an effective chip region. In this way, moisture is prevented from entering an effective chip when a scribe region is diced to assemble a package. The scribing region and effective chip boundary portion A3 is sometimes referred to simply as a scribing region for the sake of convenience.
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, a color filter layer 108 is patterned so as to be stacked on the first planarizing layer 107 using photolithography. A pattern in which three filters of the three colors of green, blue, and red are arranged in the Bayer arrangement, for example, is used as the color filter layer 108. Pigments, dyes, or hybrid compositions thereof may be used as a color material of the color filter.
Subsequently, a second planarizing layer 109 for planarizing the upper portion of the color filter layer 108 is formed by the same deposition process as the first planarizing layer 107.
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, an inorganic film 111 is formed by plasma CVD. The inorganic film 111 can be selected from a plasma oxide film, a plasma nitride film, a plasma oxynitride film, and the like, for example.
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, dry etching is performed to remove an organic material. In this case, a mixture gas of O2 and N2, for example, is used as a dry etching gas. The first photoresist 112 is removed after the dry etching is performed.
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, in the pad electrode region A2 and the scribing region and effective chip boundary portion A3, the second photoresist 115 is patterned by photolithography.
Subsequently, dry etching is performed so that the metal film 114 remains on a side wall portion vertical to the substrate and a partial ceiling portion.
The description will be continued with reference to
The ceiling portion 119 is a region extending from an uppermost portion of the side wall portion 118 in a direction parallel to the substrate. In
The metal film may be also formed in the scribing region and effective chip boundary portion A3 as well as the pad electrode region A2. In the embodiments of the present invention, the metal film can be formed in the scribing region and effective chip boundary portion A3 similarly to the pad electrode region A2.
As illustrated in
In
In
Modification
The uppermost-surface metal film 116 may be extended to a peripheral circuit portion (not illustrated) present between the pixel region A1 and the pad electrode region A2. In this way, another advantage that entrance of stray light can be prevented is obtained. When stray light enters the peripheral circuit portion (particularly, transistors), malfunctioning of circuits such as a latch-up circuit may occur. Moreover, when stray light enters the pixel region A1, optical color mixture may also occur. However, when a metal film is disposed on the peripheral circuit, it is possible to reflect stray light and to suppress occurrence of various faults.
According to the present embodiment, the side wall portion that includes an organic material (particularly, a side wall portion of a pad electrode opening and a side wall portion of a scribe opening at a chip end) and a ceiling portion around these side wall portions can be covered by a metal film. As a result, it is possible to suppress entrance of moisture from the outside and to provide a solid state image pickup device having high moisture resistance. When the color filter material is a material that includes dyes, the effect of improvement in moisture resistance increases further. According to the configuration of the modification, it is possible to provide a solid state image pickup device in which entrance of stray light is suppressed.
The uppermost-surface metal film is disposed so as to cover an organic material in at least the side wall portion of each opening. In the drawing, although the metal film is also disposed in a portion of the ceiling portion, the metal film in the ceiling portion is not essential, and the metal film is separated between the openings. In other words, the uppermost-surface metal film 225 covers the individual electrodes included in the pad electrode portion 220 and individual electrodes included in the TEG pad electrode portion 221 in the scribe region. Here, the first pad electrode portion is referred to as 220a, the second pad electrode portion is referred to as 220b, a metal film disposed in a side wall portion of an opening corresponding to the first pad electrode portion 220a is referred to as a first section, and a metal film disposed in a side wall portion of an opening corresponding to the second pad electrode portion 220b is referred to as a second section. In this case, the first section and the second section are electrically insulated.
With such a configuration, electrical short does not occur easily in the pad electrode portion 220 and the TEG pad electrode portion 221 in the scribe region. In the present embodiment, similarly to the embodiments to be described later, an insulating inorganic film may be disposed between an electrode portion and a metal film to further enhance insulating properties.
Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 will be described focusing on the difference from Embodiment 1.
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, in Embodiment 1, the inorganic film 111 is formed as illustrated in
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, as illustrated in
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, in the pad electrode region A2 and the scribing region and effective chip boundary portion A3, the second photoresist 211 is patterned by photolithography in order to etch the metal film while leaving the side wall portion of the opening and a partial ceiling portion.
The description will be continued with reference to
In
An uppermost-surface metal film 222 is provided so as to cover the pad electrode portion 220 and the TEG pad electrode portion 221 in the scribe region. The uppermost-surface metal film 222 in the drawing includes a section that electrically connects metal films that cover an organic material in the side wall portion of each opening and cover a side wall portion of each opening. Here, the first pad electrode portion is referred to as 220a, the second pad electrode portion is referred to as 220b, a metal film disposed in a side wall portion of an opening corresponding to the first pad electrode portion 220a is referred to as a first section, and a metal film disposed in a side wall portion of an opening corresponding to the second pad electrode portion 220b is referred to as a second section. In this case, the uppermost-surface metal film includes a section that electrically connects the first section and the second section. However, since an insulating film is disposed between the first section (the uppermost-surface metal film) and the pad electrode portion and between the second section and the pad electrode portion, the respective pad electrodes are not electrically connected. For the sake of convenience, it is described that the uppermost-surface metal film 222 includes a plurality of sections. However, actually, a metal material that forms the uppermost-surface metal film 222 is continuously disposed from a side wall portion of the opening corresponding to the first pad electrode portion 220a to a side wall portion of the opening corresponding to the second pad electrode portion 220b whereby the respective sections are formed.
As illustrated in the drawing, although the on-chip microlens 223 is disposed in an array form in the pixel region portion 224, the metal film is not disposed in this section. The offset X1 illustrated in
In the present embodiment, a so-called back-illuminated solid state image pickup device is presented as a solid state image pickup device. The solid state image pickup device illustrated in
A first planarizing layer 301 formed of an organic material, a color filter layer 302, a second planarizing layer 303, and an on-chip microlens layer 304 are stacked on the semiconductor substrate. The color filter layer and the on-chip microlens layer are formed in the pixel region C1.
Subsequently, resist patterning and dry etching are performed by photolithography in order to open an electrode pad 305 of the electrode pad region C3.
The description will be continued with reference to
Subsequently, a photoresist 307 for removing only an inorganic film on the electrode pad 305 of the electrode pad region C3 is formed. A portion on the electrode pad 305 of the electrode pad region C3 is open by photolithography and dry etching. In this case, dry etching is preferably performed using CF4/O2/Ar-based gas. Moreover, a material of the inorganic film 306 can be selected from a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride film, and the like.
The description will be continued with reference to
In this case, similarly to Embodiment 2, it is preferable to adjust an offset X2 for adjusting the extension distance of the inorganic film 306 in order to secure insulation performance of the inorganic film 306. For example, when the metal film 308 has a thickness of 100 nm, the offset X2 is preferably 100 nm or more. In this way, electrical short between the pad electrode and the metal film can be prevented. Moreover, since it is preferable that a parasitic diode structure is not formed in a substrate exposure portion 310 positioned in a side wall of the electrode pad region C3 of the first semiconductor substrate B1, it is not necessary to form an inorganic film and the configuration for preventing the electrical short.
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a back-illuminated solid state image pickup device in which entrance of moisture is prevented and in which moisture resistance and waterproof properties are improved. As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, another process is added to the solid state image pickup device of Embodiment 1. In
According to the present embodiment, since the uppermost-surface metal film 116 is covered by the second inorganic film 401, corrosion and oxidation of metal can be prevented. Moreover, a dual-inorganic-film structure made up of the inorganic film 111 and the second inorganic film 401 is formed on the on-chip microlens of the pixel region A1. Here, by selecting an optimal refractive index that maximizes an anti-reflection effect, improvement in light utilization efficiency is also obtained. There is no change in a moisture resistance improvement effect regardless whether the two types of inorganic films have different refractive index or the same refractive index.
According to the present embodiment, since an inorganic insulating film is formed in an exposure portion of the metal film of Embodiment 1 as a second inorganic film, moisture resistance of the solid state image pickup device is improved. Furthermore, improvement in light utilization efficiency and an effect of preventing corrosion of metal surface or oxidation are obtained.
The present embodiment aims to improve moisture resistance of a display device which uses an organic light-emitting element.
A manufacturing method or the like of the organic light-emitting element is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-216495. Briefly, a driving circuit layer 502 is formed on a substrate 501, and a first connection hole 503, a first electrode 504, a first planarizing layer 505, a second connection hole 506, and a second electrode 507 are formed successively. After an insulating layer 508 is formed, the insulating layer 508 is patterned so that the second electrode 507 and an organic layer 509 make contact with each other. In this way, an anode electrode for the organic layer 509 is formed. Moreover, a third electrode 510 is positioned on an upper layer of the organic layer 509 to function as a cathode electrode. The organic layer 509 functions as an illuminating layer.
Subsequently, a first protective layer 511, a second planarizing layer 512, a color filter layer 513 including color filters of three colors of a green filter 513a, a red filter 513b, and a blue filter 513c, and a second protective layer 514 are stacked successively. The first protective layer 511 mainly uses a plasma nitride film and the second planarizing layer 512, the color filter layer 513, and the second protective layer 514 which are upper layers of the first protective layer 511 use an organic material.
Subsequently, patterning for opening a pad electrode is performed using photolithography and dry etching. In order to prevent deterioration of the organic layer 509, all treatments after forming the organic layer 509 are performed at 110° C. or lower.
In the present embodiment, a patterned metal film is formed in the side wall portion and the ceiling portion of the pad electrode opening 516 illustrated in
In this manner, the patterned metal film 515 formed by the present embodiment can block entrance of moisture from an interlayer boundary and prevent deterioration of an organic film (particularly, the color filter layer). As a result, an effect of improving moisture resistance and waterproof properties of the display device including an organic light-emitting element is obtained.
The present embodiment aims to improve moisture resistance in a solid state image pickup device which uses an organic photoelectric converting film including an organic layer serving as a photoelectric converting film.
A detailed model information or the like of the solid state image pickup device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-033979. Briefly, a pixel circuit layer 602 is formed on a substrate 601, and a first connection hole 603, a first electrode 604, a first planarizing layer 605, a second connection hole 606, and a pixel electrode 607 are formed successively. After an insulating layer 608 is formed, the insulating layer 608 is patterned so that the pixel electrode 607 and an organic photoelectric converting film 609 make contact with each other. Moreover, an opposing electrode 610 is positioned on an upper layer of the organic photoelectric converting film 609 and is used as a ground electrode when resetting carriers in the organic photoelectric converting film.
Subsequently, a dielectric film 611, a second planarizing layer 612, a color filter layer including color filters of three colors of a green filter 613a, a red filter 613b, and a blue filter 613c, and a third planarizing layer 614 are stacked successively. The dielectric film 611 can be selected from a nitride film, an oxynitride film, an oxide film, and the like. The second planarizing layer 612, the color filter layer 613, and the third planarizing layer 614 which are upper layers of the dielectric film 611 use an organic material.
Subsequently, after an on-chip microlens 615 is patterned, a pad electrode portion opening 618 is open by photolithography and dry etching. An inorganic film 616 is formed on an uppermost surface including the pad electrode portion opening 618 by plasma CVD. The inorganic film 616 can be selected from an oxide film, a nitride film, and the like.
Subsequently, after removing a portion of an inorganic film at the bottom portion of the pad electrode portion opening 618 by photolithography and dry etching, a metal film is formed. Photolithography and dry etching are performed so that the metal film remains in the side wall portion and a partial ceiling portion of the pad electrode portion opening 618.
By the above-described processes, a patterned metal film 617 is formed. The metal film 617 suppresses entrance of moisture from an interlayer boundary portion. Due to the presence of the inorganic film 616, improvement in an insulation effect and further improvement in moisture resistance can be expected. As a result, moisture resistance and waterproof properties of the solid state image pickup device that includes an organic photoelectric converting film are improved.
As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, a portion in which an end of an organic material is exposed in a ground layer form in a cliff is covered by a metal film. As a result, since entrance of moisture from the outside is blocked, deterioration of an organic material particularly can be prevented. In general, metal crystals formed by metallic bonds are known to have the closest-packed structure. For example, the minimum distance between adjacent atoms for AL in a room temperature is approximately 2.86 Å whereas the distance is approximately 3.0 Å for water molecules, and therefore, the water molecules cannot pass through the gap between crystal lattices. Due to this, by using the present invention, it is possible to manufacture an electronic device having improved moisture resistance.
An image pickup system according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention will be described with reference to
The solid state image pickup devices (hereinafter collectively referred to as an image pickup device 1000) described in the respective embodiments can be applied to various image pickup systems. An applicable image pickup system is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a digital still camera, a digital camcorder, a surveillance camera, a copying machine, a facsimile, a cellular phone, an in-vehicle camera, and an observation satellite. Moreover, a camera module including an optical system such as a lens and an image pickup device is also included in the image pickup system.
An image pickup system 3000 includes an image pickup optical system 3020, a CPU 3100, a lens control unit 3120, an image pickup device control unit 3140, an image processing unit 3160, a diaphragm shutter control unit 3180, a display unit 3200, an operation switch 3220, and a recording medium 3240.
The image pickup optical system 3020 is an optical system for forming an optical image of a subject and includes a lens group, a diaphragm 3040, and the like. The diaphragm 3040 includes a function of adjusting a light quantity during photographing by adjusting an opening diameter thereof and a function of an exposure adjustment shutter during photographing of still images. The lens group and the diaphragm 3040 are held to advance and retract in an optical axis direction and realize a magnification changing function (a zooming function) and a focusing adjustment function with the interlocked operation. The image pickup optical system 3020 may be integrated with the image pickup system and may be an image pickup lens that can be attached to the image pickup system.
The image pickup device 1000 is disposed in an image space of the image pickup optical system 3020 so that an imaging plane is positioned therein. The image pickup device 1000 is the solid state image pickup device described in the embodiment and is configured to include a CMOS sensor (a pixel region) and a peripheral circuit (a peripheral circuit region) thereof. The image pickup device 1000 forms a two-dimensional single-panel color sensor such that pixels having a plurality of photoelectric converting portions are arranged two-dimensionally and color filters are disposed in these pixels. The image pickup device 1000 photoelectrically converts a subject image picked up by the image pickup optical system 3020 and outputs the subject image as an image signal or a focus detection signal.
The lens control unit 3120 has a function of controlling movement of the lens group of the image pickup optical system 3020 to change a magnification and adjust a focal point and is configured as a circuit or a processing device configured to realize the function. The diaphragm shutter control unit 3180 has a function of adjusting an imaging light quantity by changing an opening diameter of the diaphragm 3040 (by varying an f-number) and is configured as a circuit or a processing device configured to realize the function.
The CPU 3100 is a control device in a camera that controls various operations of a camera body and includes an arithmetic unit, a ROM, a RAM, an A/D converter, a D/A converter, a communication interface circuit, and the like. The CPU 3100 controls operations of various units in the camera according to a computer program stored in a ROM or the like to execute a series of photographing operations such as AF, imaging, image processing, and recording including focusing state detection (focal point detection) of the image pickup optical system 3020. The CPU 3100 is also a signal processing unit.
The image pickup device control unit 3140 has functions of controlling an operation of the image pickup device 1000 and A/D converting signals output from the image pickup device 1000 to output the same to the CPU 3100 and is configured as a circuit or a control device configured to realize the functions. The A/D conversion function may be included in the image pickup device 1000. The image processing unit 3160 has a function of performing image processing such as γ-conversion or color interpolation with respect to the A/D-converted signals to generate image signals and is configured as a circuit or a control device configured to realize the function. The display unit 3200 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device (LCD) and displays information on a camera photographing mode, a preview image before photographing, a confirmation image after photographing, a focusing state during focal point detection, and the like. The operation switch 3220 includes a power switch, a release (photographing trigger) switch, a zoom switch, a photographing mode selection switch, and the like. The recording medium 3240 records photographed images and the like and may be included in the image pickup system and may be detachably attached to the image pickup system like a memory card.
In this manner, by forming the image pickup system 3000 to which the image pickup devices 1000 of the respective embodiments, it is possible to realize a high-performance image pickup system capable of adjusting a focal point with high accuracy and acquiring images with a high depth of field.
An image pickup system and a mobile object according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention will be described with reference to
The image pickup system 4000 is connected to a vehicle information acquisition device 4200 and can acquire vehicle information such as a vehicle speed, a yaw rate, and a steering angle. Moreover, the image pickup system 4000 is connected to a control ECU 4300 which is a control device that outputs a control signal for generating a braking force with respect to a vehicle on the basis of a determination result obtained by the collision determining unit 4180. That is, the control ECU 4300 is mobile object control means that controls a mobile object on the basis of distance information. Moreover, the image pickup system 4000 is also connected to an a warning device 440 that issues a warning to a driver on the basis of a determination result obtained by the collision determining unit 4180. For example, when the collision determining unit 4180 determines that the possibility of collision is high, the control ECU 4300 performs vehicle control to avoid collision to alleviate injury by applying the brake, removing the force applied to an accelerator pedal, and suppressing engine output. The warning device 4400 warns users by issuing warning such as sound, displaying warning information on a screen of a navigation system or the like, or vibrating a seat belt or a steering wheel.
In the present embodiment, the surroundings of a vehicle (for example, front or rear sides) are photographed by the image pickup system 4000.
In the above description, although an example of performing control so that a vehicle does not collide with other vehicles has been described, the present invention can be applied to automated drive control for traveling so as to follow another vehicle and automated drive control for traveling so as not to deviate from a lane. The image pickup system is not limited to a vehicle such as an automobile but can be also applied to a mobile object (a movable device) such as a ship, an airplane, or an industrial robot. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to be applied to a mobile object but can be broadly applied to an apparatus which uses object recognition, such as an intelligent transport system (ITS).
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processes. That is, a program or a photographing recipe for realizing one or more functions of the respective embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus via a network or various storage media. One or more processors of a computer of the system or the apparatus read and execute the program or the photographing recipe. Moreover, the present invention can be also realized by a circuit (for example, an FPGA or an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.
Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium') to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-009558, filed on Jan. 24, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-009558 | Jan 2018 | JP | national |
