Abstract: The present invention relates to microinterferometers. An embodiment of a microinterferometer for accurately measuring the distance to an object surface includes a substrate and a tunable, phase-sensitive, reflective diffraction grating formed atop said substrate. The diffraction grating is configured to reflect a first portion of an incident light and transmit a second portion of the incident light, such that the second portion of the incident light is diffracted. The diffraction grating is further configured to be controllably adjusted. The microinterferometer also includes a photo-detector for receiving interference patterns produced from the first portion of the incident light reflected from the diffraction grating and the second portion of the incident light reflected from the object surface. The microinterferometer also includes a controller coupled to the photo-detector and the diffraction grating for adjusting the diffraction grating, such that the interference patterns are altered.

Abstract: A process for forming a shaped metallic article, including the steps of combining the starting materials, forming the starting materials into a shape to produce a nonmetallic metal precuror article of a certain geometry, and converting the nonmetallic article to a metallic article by reduction or decomposition, while substantially retaining the geometry of the nonmetallic article. The forming step in which the starting materials are fabricated into a shape can include extrusion, dry pressing, or slurry casting. Further, another embodiment is a metallic article produced by converting a nonmetallic article with a certain geometry, including a plurality of open-ended channels, substantially to the same geometry as the nonmetallic article from which it was converted.

Abstract: A novel system and method for maintaining timing synchronization in a digital video network, in conjunction with a digital video and data delivery system, makes possible the delivery of digital video content, bi-directional data services, such as Internet data, and plain old telephone service (POTS) to an end user over a communications channel. The channel is typically the copper wire pair that extends between a telephone company central office and a residential premises, but may be any communication medium that supports the communication of compressed digital video, bi-directional data, such as Internet data, and POTS, and indeed, may be a wireless connection. The digital video and data delivery system capitalizes on a bus, or broadcast backplane, created by circuitry contained within the central office.