Abstract: It is described a process to obtain thin film lines by photolithography of thick resist and subsequent selective galvanic growth of gold which enables to obtain very thin lines (2-10 micron) with high definition, that is with nearly vertical walls and with a tolerance in the width of about 1 micron. Such results have been achieved by using polyimide as thick resist, by particular cure cycles of the same polyimide and by a particular dry etching of the polyimide layer to obtain seats in which afterwards the lines become grown.

Abstract: An expander system for pulse signals with enhanced output power level is disclosed. The expander system, which comprises an expander filter and subsequently connected amplifier means, is provided with a supplementary 180 degree phase modulator connected in front of the expander filter. The phase modulator is switched on and off by a control signal delivered from a control stage in such a manner that, during the duration of a pulse signal, the phase modulator produces at least two phase shifts of approximately 180 degrees.

Abstract: The invention relates to a driver for a semiconductor laser which makes it possible to obtain a high switching rate as well as bias and modulation current control. These objects are achieved with an asymmetric mirror current generator and current variation means using one transistor only.

Abstract: The present invention describes an improved method of calculating the bipolar violation rate (BPV) in DS1 signal transmission which may be implemented in a computer program subroutine which efficiently and without undue processing steps will accurately generate alarms when the bipolar violation rate exceeds predetermined service affecting and non-service affecting and other desired thresholds. These rates are automatically computed over different time intervals depending upon the quantity of errors which are detected such that for the case of a large number of errors only a short duration time interval is examined in the course of calculation of the bipolar violation rate while in the case of few errors a longer timing interval is automatically examined and utilized in the course of calculation of the bipolar violation rate, all for the purpose of accurately generating alarms when necessary.

Abstract: An angular-diversity radiating system is described for tropospheric-scatter radio links which comprises a paraboloid and two antenna horns in which the distance between the antenna horns is adjustable in order to vary the diversity angle depending on the transmissive characteristics of the troposphere of the link involved to always have the optimal diversity angle under all link conditions.The radiating system includes four wave guides connected to the two antenna horns to permit the use of single and double polarization for both the antenna horns and the use of both the antenna horns, or alternatively only one, for receiving and transmitting signals.

Abstract: A counter slip control circuit is described for digital transmission systems wherein the counter uses a feedback circuit to define the permissible counter states. The slip control input modifies the feedback function so that certain counter states are either repeated or skipped. A repeated counter state is equivalent to retardation of the counter output signal phase. A skipped counter state is equivalent to advancing the counter output signal phase. The slip control gate is eliminated from the clock input line to the counter and instead is included in the feedback path which eliminates the skew problem and permits the equivalent of adding clock pulses without the requirement for logic speeds of twice the normal clock speed.

Abstract: A thin film power coupler, in particular, a 3 dB and 90 degree power divider, is fabricated of lumped circuit elements. The main characteristics of the coupler is in having achieved the coupled inductances by mutual induction. Such an achievement has been obtained with 2 microstrip lines facing each other and wrapped in a square shaped spiral. Another important characteristic of the power coupler is the presence of a capacitor in the circuit which joins the two branches of the coupler, with sufficient tolerance to obtain the wanted coupling and to recover possible tolerances incurred by manufacturing the thin film inductors.

Abstract: A pin diode variable attenuator featuring decouping values higher than those achievable using the technique used so far, is described. This result has been achieved by implementing the line sections which the pin diodes are connected to with a characteristic impedance different than the characteristic impedance input and output to/from the attenuator.

Abstract: A method for polarity recognition of electronic components, and an arrangement for carrying out the method are presented. An application for the invention is in the automatic assembling of circuitboards by robots, wherein components present in the form of bulk material must be placed in order. If the polarity of the components is not evident from their exterior structural conventional mechanical ordering methods are not applicable. According to the invention, for components in which a terminal is connected with the electrically insulted foil electrode (2), the currents which, when a-c voltages are applied to the terminals (3, 4) of the component (1), flow capacitively across the outer foil (2) to a probe (6) are evaluated as signal for the polarity of the component (1). In an arrangement for carrying out this method, which comprises a circuit for the generation of mutually phase-shifted a-c voltages (u.sub.1, u.sub.

Abstract: A subranging analog-to-digital converter is disclosed. A coarse analog-to-digital converter has an analog input terminal coupled to a source of analog signal, a digital output terminal, and a range indication output terminal. First and second fine analog-to-digital converters each have an analog input terminal coupled to the analog signal source, a range selection input terminal coupled to the range indication output terminal, and a digital output terminal. A combining circuit has input terminals coupled to the digital output terminals of the coarse and first and second fine analog-to-digital converters. The coarse analog-to-digital converter operates on every clock cycle, and the fine analog-to-digital converters operate alternately on every other clock cycle to produce a sequence of digital samples representing the analog signal, one for each clock cycle.

Abstract: A vertical transition processor for a comb filter detects the presence of a complementary-color vertical transition. A detector is provided for detecting if the color subcarrier on adjacent lines has the same phase angle and amplitude. This indicates the presence of a complementary-color vertical transition. If a complementary-color vertical transition is detected, then the comb filtered luminance and chrominance signals are selectively coupled to the luminance and chrominance processing channels so that the chrominance processing channel receives primarily color information and the color information is excluded from the luminance processing channel. This counteracts the adverse effects of the complementary-color vertical transition.

Abstract: In a composite color video signal, a portion of the signal spectrum is shared by high frequency vertical detail information, and high frequency modulated color difference (I) information. A circuit is described which determines whether the information in the shared frequency band is vertical detail information or color difference information without degradation in the presence of a step input signal, as, for example, in the presence of lettering in the image. A composite video signal is comb filtered to generate comb filtered chrominance and luminance signals. A baseband color difference signal is produced from the comb filtered chrominance signal and the presence of high frequency information in the baseband color difference signal is detected. The bandwidth of the low frequency portion of the comb filtered chrominance signal (i.e. the vertical detail information) which is restored to the comb filtered luminance signal is varied in response to the control signal.

Abstract: The present application discloses a video signal processing apparatus for minimizing cross-color and cross-luminance interference in a composite video signal. A first filter is coupled to a color difference signal input terminal and generates a signal occupying a first region of a predetermined spatio-temporal frequency space. A second filter is coupled to a brightness signal input terminal and generates a signal occupying a second region of the predetermined spatio-temporal frequency space exclusive of the first region. An encoder forms a composite video signal from the filtered color difference and brightness signals such that they occupy mutually exclusive spatio-temporal frequency spaces. A television receiver for decoding the composite video signal is described which comprises the serial connection of a vertical-temporal filter and a horizontal filter.

Abstract: An adaptive median filter system is disclosed. Circuitry is arranged to produce successive sets of samples from an input signal which may possibly include noise. An adaptive median filter filters the samples in response to a control signal. Further circuitry estimates the relative density of the noise in the input signal to generate the control signal supplied to the adaptive median filter.

Abstract: A hanging dot detector for a video signal processor including a comb filter is disclosed. The respective phases of the signals in the band of frequencies normally containing color representative information of both the comb filtered chrominance and luminance signals are detected. The magnitude of the changes of the respective comb filtered luminance and chrominance phase angle signals over a given time period are compared. A control signal is generated in response to the comparison of the changes over the period of time of the respective phases. A signal coupling unit couples the comb filtered luminance signal to the luminance processing channel. In response to the control signal, the signal coupling means alters the frequency composition of the comb filtered luminance signal so as to eliminate the color representative information. A further embodiment is disclosed to process a complementary-color vertical transition condition.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for producing a frozen television picture are disclosed. Successive fields of picture information are generated by an interpolator which is responsive to a video input signal. These successive fields are applied to the input of a first field store device. The video input signal is applied to the input of a second field store device so that the successive fields of the video input signal correspond in time to the successive fields generated by the interpolator. Lines from the respective field store devices are sequenced repetitively to form a video signal representing the frozen television picture. The interpolator generates fields which, when displayed with corresponding fields of the video input signal, minimizes motion-induced artifacts without unduly degrading vertical resolution.

Abstract: Apparatus for passing digital pulses from a bilevel digital signal source having widths wider than a given minimum and narrower than a given maximum is described. A first duration sensitive signal gate is coupled to the signal source and passes only signals having widths wider than the given minimum duration. A second duration sensitive signal gate is also coupled to the signal source and passes only signals having widths equal to or wider than the given maximum duration. A signal selection means is coupled to the first and second duration sensitive signal gates, and passes pulses which have been passed by the first but not the second duration sensitive signal gate.

Abstract: A vertical detail enhancer for use in a progressive scan video signal processor is disclosed. An interstitial luminance signal producer produces interstitial luminance signals in response to interlaced luminance signals from a source of such signals. Means modify the interlaced and interstitial luminance signals for enhancing the vertical detail of the displayed image by adding only overshoot to leading edges and only undershoot to trailing edges. Further means sequence the vertical detail enhanced interlaced and interstitial luminance signals to produce a signal representing a progressively scanned image.

Abstract: A transition detector is disclosed which compares comb filtered component signals from adjacent image lines. A detector detects signals in the band of frequencies normally occupied by color representative information for a given line and two adjacent lines. A control signal generator generates a control signal in response to the relative levels of the detected signals for the given line, and the lines adjacent the given line. The composition of the comb filtered component signal coupled from the comb filter to the component processing channel is altered in response to the generated control signal.