Abstract: In rows (1) of data elements (11, 12), there may occur special data elements, such as control characters. By replacing each special data element (12) by a replacement data element (14), which contains a positional indication of a next special data element (12′) and which does not correspond to a special data element (12), it is possible to reproducibly remove all special data-elements from the row (1) without the length of the row increasing essentially. only one single supplementary data element (13) is required for transmitting the positional indication of the first special data element.

Abstract: The invention is embodied in a coil antenna for radiating RF power supplied by an RF source into a vacuum chamber, the coil antenna including plural helical conductors each having a first end and a second end, the first ends being adapted for connection to a first common RF potential, the second ends being adapted for connection to a second common RF potential, each of the plural conductors being wound about a common axis of helical symmetry, each of the second ends being spaced substantially equally from the axis and from each other.

Abstract: A cooling apparatus for cooling an electrical device 1 using a flow of coolant comprises a cooling unit 3. The cooling unit 3 is in contact with the device 1 and includes a channel 6 for transporting the coolant past the device 1. In a preferred embodiment, the sectional area of the channel 6 decreases between the inlet and the outlet of the channel 6. The velocity of the flow of coolant past the device 1 can be modified, thus improving the efficiency of cooling.

Abstract: In a plasma reactor including a reactor chamber, a workpiece support for holding a workpiece inside the chamber during processing and an inductive antenna, a window electrode proximal a wall of the chamber, the antenna and wall being positioned adjacently, the window electrode being operable as (a) a capacitive electrode accepting RF power to capacitively coupled plasma source power into the chamber, and (b) a window electrode passing Rf power therethrough from said antenna into the chamber to inductively couple plasma source power into the chamber.

Abstract: A non-conductive dome-shaped portion having a plurality of different radii as a dielectric inductive coupling wall of a reactor chamber. The non-conductive dome-shaped portion having a plurality of different radii being adapted to be positioned in close underlying relationship to a coil antenna and transmissive of RF energy inductively coupled into the chamber from the coil.

Abstract: Apparatus, and accompanying methods for use therein, for a telephony gateway intended for use, e.g., paired use, at opposite ends of a data network connection, in conjunction with at each end, e.g., a private branch exchange (PBX) for automatically routing telephone calls, e.g., voice, data and facsimile, between two peer PBXs over either a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or a data network, based on, among other aspects, cost considerations for handling each such call and called directory numbers, monitoring quality of service (QoS) then provided through the data network and switching (“auto-switching”) such calls back and forth between the PSTN and the data network, as needed, in response to dynamic changes in the QoS such that the call is carried over a connection then providing a sufficient QoS. To support auto-switching, the apparatus embeds, using call independent signaling, certain call-specific information, as non-standard data, within various conventional H.

Abstract: The invention is embodied by a plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, including a reactor enclosure defining a processing chamber, a semiconductor window, a base within the chamber for supporting the workpiece during processing thereof, a gas inlet system for admitting a plasma precursor gas into the chamber, and an inductive antenna adjacent a side of the semiconductor window opposite the base for coupling power into the interior of the chamber through the semiconductor window electrode.

Abstract: In a system having an DSP, an ASIC and a memory, in which the ASIC generates a number of different competing interrupts for the DSP to service, the ASIC has an interrupt request control module which automatically provides the DSP with a vector pointing to the memory location of the interrupt service routine for the currently pending interrupt request having the highest priority of all pending requests. The DSP reads this vector and uses it to access the interrupt service routine in the memory. Reading of this vector causes the interrupt request to be de-asserted, which causes the next highest priority pending interrupt request to become the highest priority pending interrupt request. As a result, a new vector is presented for the next read by the DSP.

Abstract: A digital camera includes a CPU. The CPU releases a bus according to a bus-release request from a memory control circuit, and supplies a bus grant signal to the memory control circuit. Accordingly, the image data from a first signal processing circuit is written into a VRAM according to DMA. When the writing of the image is ended, the memory control circuit cancels the bus release request. The CPU accesses to the VRAM through the bus, to utilize the VRAM as a working memory.

Abstract: The invention solves the problem of continuously monitoring wafer temperature during processing using an optical or fluoro-optical temperature sensor including an optical fiber having an end next to and facing the backside of the wafer. This optical fiber is accommodated without disturbing plasma processing by providing in one of the wafer lift pins an axial void through which the optical fiber passes. The end of the fiber facing the wafer backside is coincident with the end of the hollow lift pin. The other end is coupled via an “external” optical fiber to temperature probe electronics external of the reactor chamber. The invention uses direct wafer temperature measurements with a test wafer to establish a data base of wafer temperature behavior as a function of coolant pressure and a data base of wafer temperature behavior as a function of wafer support or “puck” temperature.

Abstract: Matching (e.g., via correlation or similarity process) entities having attributes, some of which have associated values. The values of the attributes may be adjusted based on number of entities that have values for a particular attribute so that the values decrease as the number increases. The attributes of the entities may be harmonized and provided with default values so that entities being matched have common attributes defined by the union of the attributes of the entities being matched. The attributes of the entities may be expanded and provided with default values so that the entities being matched have attributes that neither had originally. Match values may be normalized to provide a weight value which may be used to predict an attribute value of a new entity based on known attribute values of known entities. The weight values may be tuned such that relatively high weights are amplified and relatively low weights are suppressed.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method, for plasma assisted processing of a workpiece, which provides for separate control of species density within a processing plasma. The present invention has a processing chamber and at least one collateral chamber. The collateral chamber is capable of generating a collateral plasma and delivering it to the processing chamber. To control the densities of the particle species within the processing chamber the present invention may have: a filter interposed between the collateral chamber and the processing chamber, primary chamber source power, several collateral chambers providing separate inputs to the processing chamber, or combinations thereof. Collateral plasma may be: filtered, combined with primary chamber generated plasma, combined with another collateral plasma, or combinations thereof to separately control the densities of the species comprising the processing plasma.

Abstract: A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece includes a chamber adapted to accept processing gases in an evacuated environment including a workpiece support, a hollow conduit defining a wall of the chamber, and having respective ends opening adjacent opposite sides of the workpiece support, and a chamber wall portion in facing relationship to the workpiece support and defining a workpiece processing zone therebetween, the processing zone and the interior of the conduit forming a torroidal interior path, and an RF energy applicator irradiating gas within the chamber to maintain a plasma within the torroidal interior path.

Abstract: Matching (e.g., via correlation or similarity process) entities having attributes, some of which have associated values. The values of the attributes may be adjusted based on number of entities that have values for a particular attribute so that the values decrease as the number increases. The attributes of the entities may be harmonized and provided with default values so that entities being matched have common attributes defined by the union of the attributes of the entities being matched. The attributes of the entities may be expanded and provided with default values so that the entities being matched have attributes that neither had originally. Match values may be normalized to provide a weight value which may be used to predict an attribute value of a new entity based on known attribute values of known entities. The weight values may be tuned such that relatively high weights are amplified and relatively low weights are suppressed.

Abstract: The invention performs speech recognition using an array of mixtures of Bayesian networks. A mixture of Bayesian networks (MBN) consists of plural hypothesis-specific Bayesian networks (HSBNs) having possibly hidden and observed variables. A common external hidden variable is associated with the MBN, but is not included in any of the HSBNs. The number of HSBNs in the MBN corresponds to the number of states of the common external hidden variable, and each HSBN models the world under the hypothesis that the common external hidden variable is in a corresponding one of those states. In accordance with the invention, the MBNs encode the probabilities of observing the sets of acoustic observations given the utterance of a respective one of said parts of speech. Each of the HSBNs encodes the probabilities of observing the sets of acoustic observations given the utterance of a respective one of the parts of speech and given a hidden common variable being in a particular state.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for analyzing tasks performed by computer users by (i) gathering usage data, (ii) converting logged usage data into a uniform format, (iii) determining or defining task boundaries, and (iv) determining a task analysis model by “clustering” similar tasks together. The task analysis model may be used to (i) help users complete a task (such help, for example, may be in the form of a gratuitous help function), and/or (ii) to target marketing information to users based on user inputs and the task analysis model. The present invention also provides a uniform semantic network for representing different types of objects in a uniform way.

Abstract: The invention is embodied in a computer including a memory and a memory protector responsive to a list of key memory locations containing information to be protected, the memory protector including (a) a write protection circuit—operating independently of the computer—which prevents any write requests specifying the memory locations contained in the list from being carried out, and (b) a manual protect enable switch for enabling and temporarily disabling the write protection circuit, thus allowing special or temporary access to the protected memory locations. The write protection circuit may be implemented as a programmed microprocessor with its program stored in a non-volatile read-only memory, or as a dedicated hard-wired logic circuit, such as a field programmable gate array. The list of key memory locations may be stored in a non-volatile memory accessed by the write protection circuit. More conveniently, the list is contained in a protected memory location (i.e.

Abstract: Cooling apparatus is used to cool equipment, for example electrical equipment, using a fan. In an embodiment described, the cooling apparatus comprises a duct for communication with the fan and for transporting air past the equipment. The duct may include a diffuser for improving the air flow in the duct.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for collecting, storing, processing and using data, such a RMON2 network traffic data, are described. Network traffic probes are identified and attempts are made to configure the identified probes to generate network traffic data sets which are as close to a preselected common data format as possible. Application layer traffic data is collected in addition to network layer traffic data when possible. In an RMON2 embodiment, the common data format includes the use of delta count values as opposed to absolute count values. The common data format of the present invention utilizes terminal count mode format as opposed to all count mode format for the presentation of RMON2 application layer information. To minimize the amount of data processing required to put a probe's network traffic data into the desired common format and to maximize the amount of information collected, network data is obtained from a probe using one of the available RMON2 table formats.

Abstract: A digital camera includes a CCD imager, and a CCD output signal from the CCD imager is clamped in an analog clamp area by an analog clamp circuit, and then, converted into a digital signal by an A/D converter. The digital signal is thereafter applied to a clamp level calculation circuit which calculates a clamp level of the digital signal, whereby the digital signal can be subjected to digital clamping by a first subtraction circuit.