Abstract: A storage apparatus comprises a storage medium (27) on which information can be stored in form of electronic charge. The storage medium (27) comprises a plurality of separated electrically conductive charge-storing elements (4) on its surface. The apparatus further comprises a read/write head (28) with which the information can be written to and/or read from the storage medium (27). Additionally, it contains driving means (29, 30, 31) which serves to move the read/write head (28) and the storage medium (27) relatively to each other. The read/write head (28) comprises cantilever means (2) with an electrically conductive read/write tip (1) which is connected to read/write means (24). For writing, a charge-, voltage or current source (33) that delivers the electronic charge is provided. For reading, measure means (36) which measures the electronic charge is provided.

Abstract: One objective of this invention is to provide means for selecting, from among an enormous amount of data, truly necessary information, and for distributing such selected information while maintaining the secrecy of personal information. Information, such as public user information, that a user permits to be registered is stored in the server of an information provider, which refers to such information in order to filter information that is to be distributed and to generate information choices. The information choices are then transmitted to the user terminal and the user filters them and makes second choices by referring to secret user information stored in the user terminal. The user then requests from the server the main body of information for such second choices. Upon the receipt of the user's request, the server transmits the requested main body of information and the user terminal receives and displays the information.

Abstract: A Java runtime system is proposed which comprises a stack-based interpreter executing a program that comprises bytecodes and class structures. The system further comprises a modified constant pool with internal information of use only during linking and with external information to be preserved for late code binding. The internal information is removed from the modified constant pool after linking.

Abstract: A lock is implemented by assigning the lock to a thread that creates the associated object. The “owning thread” can thereafter acquire and release the lock without any atomic operations. If another thread attempts to acquire the lock, the non-owning thread sends a message to the owning thread, requesting permission to acquire the lock. At some point, the owning thread receives the message from the non-owning thread and changes the state of the lock such that future lock/unlock operations use atomic operations that support object sharing.

Abstract: It is determined whether audio identifying information generated for an audio content image matches audio identifying information in an audio content database. If the audio identifying information generated for the audio content image matches audio identifying information in the audio content database, at least one product containing or relating to audio content that corresponds to the matching audio identifying information is identified. In one embodiment, the audio content image is received, and the audio identifying information is generated for the audio content image. In another embodiment, the audio identifying information for the audio content image is received. Also provided is a system for selling products.

Abstract: A method, computer readable medium and a structure for real-time simulation, which allows the user to manipulate model parameters and see the simulated result in real-time as the model is changed. The simulated result is visually compared with the data, allowing the user to refine the model. In one embodiment, the invention is used for evaluating medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) data, as well as conventional Rutherford backscattering data. It is important to realize that the invention is not limited to ion beam analysis, or to scientific data analysis. The invention can be used for evaluating any type of complex system where a well-defined simulation procedure exists. The model evaluation must proceed quickly enough to provide a real-time, visual display for the user.

Abstract: An element is deposited by flowing a gas through a solid donor compound that includes the element, and over a substrate. The flow of gas deposits a film of a few monolayers of donor compound on the substrate. An optical radiation source (e.g., a femtosecond laser) which produces optical radiation at an instantaneous intensity sufficient to cause non linear or otherwise enhanced interaction between optical radiation photons and the donor compound is used to decompose the donor compound and deposit the metal on the substrate. After an initial deposit of the donor compound is produced, optical radiation can be absorbed and heat the substrate in the localized area of the deposit in order to accelerate the deposition process by thermally decomposing the donor compound.

Abstract: It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure and method for an integrated circuit comprising a first gate, a second gate, and source and drain regions adjacent the first and second gates, wherein the structure has a planar upper structure and the first gate, source and drain regions are silicided in a single self-aligned process (salicide).

Abstract: Liquid crystal display (LCD ) panels can be formed rapidly by this method, which involves depositing liquid crystal (LC) in a central region of one substrate, depositing a fillet of epoxy material in a continuous loop along the periphery of one substrate to surround the LC material, placing a second glass substrate over the first substrate and in continuous contact with the epoxy fillet, and then causing the fillet to set by curing or cross-linking. Advantageously, the epoxy fillet can be hardened by scanning it with an infrared or ultraviolet laser focussed to avoid heating the LC material. Alternatively, the epoxy fillet can be formed from two-component epoxy by depositing one fillet of each component on the peripheral region of one of the substrates, joining the substrates to merge the two components, and then vibrating the joined substrates to enhance commingling and setting of the two components into a strong hermetic seal.

Abstract: A multicast communication system for small groups using a protocol to indicate to routers receiving a packet according to the protocol to perform the following process: (1) determining a next hop for each of the destination nodes listed in the packet received; (2) partitioning the destination nodes into groups according to the next hop determined for each destination node in the preceding step; (3) replicating the packet such that there is at least one copy of the packet for each of the next hops; (4) modifying the list of addresses for the destination nodes such that the list of addresses for each of the next hops includes only the addresses for the destination nodes to be routed in that next hop; and (5) transmitting the modified copies of the packet to the next hops found in the previous steps for routing to the addresses included in each packet.

Abstract: A SOI structure and a method for its fabrication, in which a strained silicon layer lies directly on an insulator layer, contrary to the prior requirement for strained-Si layers to lie directly on a strain-inducing (e.g., SiGe) layer. The method generally entails the forming a silicon layer on a strain-inducing layer so as to form a multilayer structure, in which the strain-inducing layer has a different lattice constant than silicon so that the silicon layer is strained as a result of the lattice mismatch with the strain-inducing layer. The multilayer structure is then bonded to a substrate so that an insulating layer is between the strained silicon layer and the substrate, and so that the strained silicon layer directly contacts the insulating layer.

Abstract: An audio signal is sampled and a frequency transform is performed on a succession of sets of samples of the signal to obtain a time dependent power spectrum for the audio signal. Frequency components output by the frequency transform are collected in frequency bands. More than one running average is taken of each semitone frequency band. When the values of two running averages of the same semitone frequency band cross, time information is recorded. Information about average crossing events that have occurred at different times in a set of adjacent semitone frequency bands is combined to form a key. A set of keys obtained from a song provides a means for identifying the song and is stored in a database for use in identifying songs.

Abstract: A processor is provided for calculating an output pointer to a first data item by combination of an input pointer to a second data item with an offset. The processor includes logic for generating, in a single operation, a zero value for the output pointer when the input pointer is zero and an output pointer value calculated as the offset value added to, or subtracted from, the input pointer value when the input pointer is non-zero.

Abstract: It is important to accurately align a pair of substrates, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) panels before they are affixed together. This is accomplished, according to the invention, by depositing a number of magnetic field generating elements on one substrate and a plurality of magnetic field-detecting elements on the other substrate. For example, the field-generating elements can be permanent magnets, while the field-detecting can be correspondingly located elements of a magnetic material. Alternatively, both the field-generating and field-detecting elements may be made from permanently magnetic materials.

Abstract: A ferromagnetic film suitable for ultra-high density perpendicular recording, and a process for producing the film. The process generally entails forming a film of ferromagnetic material on a surface of a substrate, such that the film is characterized by perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and comprises a plurality of magnetic domains defined by domain walls perpendicular to a major surface of the film. The ferromagnetic film is formed to have a linear strain defect for the purpose of smoothing and stabilizing the domain walls during subsequent magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic material. Such smoothing and stabilizing serves to control temporal magnetic noise due to motion of magnetic domains, arrest domain wall motion (reducing velocity) when the film is subjected to the magnetic reversal fields, and controls spatial magnetic noise due to domain wall jaggedness.

Abstract: A broadcast datastream is received, and audio identifying information is generated for audio content from the broadcast datastream. It is determined whether the audio identifying information generated for the broadcast audio content matches audio identifying information in an audio content database. In one preferred embodiment, the audio identifying information is an audio feature signature that is based on audio content. Also provided is a system for monitoring broadcast audio content.

Abstract: In a dictionary formation aspect of the invention, a computer-based method of processing a plurality of sequences in a database comprises the following steps. First, the method includes evaluating each of the plurality of sequences including characters which form each sequence. Then, at least one pattern of characters is generated representing at least a subset of the sequences in the database. The pattern has a statistical significance associated therewith, the statistical significance of the pattern being determined by a value representing a minimum number of sequences that the pattern supports in the database.

Abstract: Given an input sequence of data, a motif is a repeating pattern. The data could be a sequence of characters or sets of characters or even real values. In the first two cases, the number of motifs could potentially be exponential in the size of the input sequence and in the third case there could be uncountably infinite number of motifs. By suitably defining the notion of maximality and redundancy for any sequence with n characters, there exists only a linear (or no more than 3n) number of special motifs and every other motif can be generated from these irredundant motifs.

Abstract: A method of assembling arrays of small particles or molecules using an atomic force microscope to define ferroelectric domains includes depositing a ferroelectric thin film upon a substrate forming workpiece, then using an atomic force microscope having a conductive, tip for generating a pattern on this thin film to define desired nano-circuit patterns. Next, exposure of this thin film to a solution containing chemical species which selectively adsorb or accumulate under the influence of electrophoretic forces in selected regions of this thin film.

Abstract: A mechanism is described that prefetches instructions and data into the cache using a branch instruction as a prefetch trigger. The prefetch is initiated if the predicted execution path after the branch instruction matches the previously seen execution path. This match of the execution paths is determined using a branch history queue that records the branch outcomes (taken/not taken) of the branches in the program. For each branch in this queue, a branch history mask records the outcomes of the next N branches and serves as an encoding of the execution path following the branch instruction. The branch instruction along with the mask is associated with a prefetch address (instruction or data address) and is used for triggering prefetches in the future when the branch is executed again. A mechanism is also described to improve the timeliness of a prefetch by suitably adjusting the value of N after observing the usefulness of the prefetched instructions or data.