Abstract: An antifuse comprises a substantially planar conductive lower electrode covered by a first layer of silicon nitride. A layer of amorphous silicon is disposed over the silicon nitride layer. A first dielectric layer is disposed over the surface of the amorphous silicon layer and has a first aperture therethrough communicating with the amorphous silicon layer. A second layer of silicon nitride is disposed over the first dielectric layer and in the first aperture. A conductive upper electrode, such as a layer of titanium nitride, is disposed over the second layer of silicon nitride. A second dielectric layer is disposed over the surface of the conductive upper electrode and has a second aperture therethrough in alignment with the first aperture communicating with the conductive upper electrode. An overlying metal layer is disposed over the surface of the second dielectric layer and in the second aperture making electrical contact with the conductive upper electrode.

Abstract: A coordinated timing technique is disclosed which allows a single analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to be timeshared by multiple digital transceivers operating on independent subscriber loops with independent sampling phase requirements. The multiple transceivers must all operate from a single master reference clock. However, any arbitrary timing phase relationship between the transceivers can be accommodated.

Abstract: An analog storage array according to the present invention is disposed on a semiconductor substrate. The array is arranged as a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns and includes a plurality of N-channel MOS transistors disposed in the rows and columns in a p-well in the semiconductor substrate. Each of the MOS transistors includes a source, a drain, and a floating gate forming a tunneling junction with a tunneling electrode. An input line is associated with each of the rows in the array. Each input line is connected to the source of each of the N-channel MOS transistors disposed in the row with which the input line is associated. A bias line is associated with each of the rows in the array. Each bias line is capacitively coupled to the floating gate of each of the N-channel MOS transistors disposed in the row with which the bias line is associated. A tunnel line is associated with each of the columns in the array.

Abstract: An object proximity sensor includes a capacitive touch-sensitive transducer including row conductive lines insulated from column conductive lines to from a matrix. An insulating layer is disposed over the matrix and has a thickness selected to achieve significant capacitive coupling between an object placed on its surface and the matrix. Circuitry first drives each of the row conductive lines to a fixed voltage and then simultaneously injects a known amount of charge onto each of the row conductive lines, and then senses for each row conductive line a row-sense voltage created by the known amount of charge injected onto each of the row conductive lines, and, simultaneous with injected the known amount of charge, changes the voltage on all of the column conductive lines in the same direction as the row-sense voltage by an amount no greater than about twice the difference between the fixed voltage and an average of all row-sense voltage in the transducer.

Abstract: The area of the switching devices for programming metal-to-metal antifuses can be drastically reduced by employing bipolar devices or the bipolar effects of SCR type switches to pass large currents while utilizing the minimum amount of die area. The switching devices may be formed in both p-type and n-type substrates. In a first antifuse programming structure fabricated on a p-type substrate, an NPN bipolar transistor is used as a pullup device and an SCR is used as a pulldown device. In a second antifuse programming structure, SCR devices are used as both pullup and pulldown devices. In a third antifuse programming structure fabricated on a p-type substrate, an NPN bipolar transnsistor is used as a pullup device and a PNP bipolar transistor is used as a pulldown device. In a fourth antifuse programming structure fabricated on a p-type substrate, an NPN bipolar transistor is used as a pullup device and a N-channel MOS transistor is used as a pulldown device.

Abstract: A slew rate control circuit for an output circuit of an integrated circuit includes an input node for obtaining an input signal and an output node for providing an output signal. A first stage of the control circuit includes at least one transistor having a control terminal and first and second main terminals. The control terminals of each at least one transistor are connected together to the input node. The first main terminal of each at least one transistor are connected to a voltage rail. The second main terminal of each at least one transistor is connected to the output node through its own individual resistor. One or more subsequent stages of the control circuit each contain at least one transistor having a control terminal and first and second main terminals. The control terminals of each at least one transistor in each one or more subsequent stages of the control circuit are connected together to a control node driven from the control terminals of the preceding stage through at least one inverter.

Abstract: A laser capture microdissection lift-off substrate comprising a transparent thermoplastic film is incorporated into substrate which may take the form of a cap or other structure associated with an analysis vessel or which may be used with a holder or other element of a LCM tissue sample transfer apparatus. The thermoplastic lift-off substrate film is held in a fixed position on the substrate which may be relative to a feature of a biological analysis vessel. The film may be affixed to a substrate which is a structure which goes into the vessel such that the sample is held in a fixed position relative to an observation port on the vessel.

Abstract: An antifuse fabrication process includes the steps of forming a lower antifuse electrode, forming an insulating layer over the lower antifuse electrode, forming an antifuse aperture in the insulating layer, forming a dielectric antifuse material including a first layer comprising silicon dioxide and a second layer comprising silicon nitride over the antifuse insulating layer, etching the silicon nitride layer to form a small layer of silicon nitride in a region centered over the antifuse aperture, optionally forming a third dielectric antifuse layer comprising silicon dioxide, and forming an upper antifuse electrode. Alternatively, the first, second, and third layers of dielectric antifuse material may be formed and then etched to form a small composite sandwich structure of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide over the first silicon dioxide layer in a region centered over the antifuse aperture prior to forming an upper antifuse electrode.

Abstract: A force sensing touchpad comprises a substantially rigid touch surface; a substantially rigid frame; a plurality of spring structures formed integrally with the touch surface and mechanically connected to the reference frame; and a circuit for deriving force information from capacitances proportional to the distances between predetermined portions of the touch surface and portions of the frame in response to a force applied to the touch surfaces.

Abstract: A software agent which performs autonomous learning in a real-world environment, implemented in a case-based reasoning system and coupled to a sensor for gathering information from, and to an effector for manipulating, its environment. A case base which is tuned in response to an evaluation of how well the agent is operating in that environment. A memory of cases, the contents of that memory being determined by a genetic technique, including producing new cases which may never have been encountered in the environment, evaluating cases in response to a history of previous matches and in response to an external stimulus, and selecting a limited set of cases which provides a preferred model of the environment.

Abstract: An ultrasmooth diamond film has a thickness greater than about ten microns and an average grain size less than about 0.5 micron. The ultrasmooth diamond film of the present invention is grown using ordinary microwave plasma CVD methods, with a metal vapor source included in the reactor to produce vapor during the growth of the film. The metal vapor source may be chosen from the first row transition elements, chromium, iron, cobalt, and nickel, or from the lanthanides praseodymium, europium, or erbium. Any metal capable of existing in the vapor phase in the presence of the hydrogen plasma, will cause formation of the ultrasmooth film of the present invention.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for automated circuit design case management. A computer system maintains a set of cases for circuit design, in which each case comprises a set of files, in one or more directories, representing the circuit design. For example, each case may comprise a circuit schematic, a symbolic representation for a circuit element, a set of timing information, or a wiring diagram. The system provides a set of tools for automated management, manipulation, and verification of cases. The system provides a technique by which a designer or other user may create a case in which the program maintains assertions regarding the state of the circuit, the mode of operation, or the purpose of analysis for that case. The system provides a technique by which a designer or other user may modify a first case, or create a second case modeled on the first case, in which a first subset of the files for each case is invariant and a second subset of the files differ between the two cases.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for providing a medical protocol graphic user interface is provided. The apparatus and method generates a plurality of graphic images representing a medical treatment plan. The graphic images are presented in a chronological order based on real or virtual time slots and may be viewed in either a flow chart or a chart view format. The view chart format may be used by healthcare professionals to enter data. The graphical images include an order node, result node and flow node. The various nodes may be connected to form a healthcare plan assigned to a patient. Costs may be assigned to each order and various costs of various treatments may be determined. Patient plans may be transferred or modified by other healthcare professionals.

Abstract: A hearing compensation system for the hearing impaired comprises an input transducer for converting acoustical information at an input to electrical signals at an output, an output transducer for converting electrical signals at an input to acoustical information at an output, a plurality of bandpass filters, each bandpass filter having an input connected to the output of said input transducer, a plurality of AGC circuits, each individual AGC circuit associated with a different one of the bandpass filters and having an input connected to the output of its associated bandpass filter and an output connected to the input of the output transducer.

Abstract: The invention provides a stabilized power converter having an input voltage and an output voltage, where the stabilized converter operates similar to a conventional converter under normal conditions, and operates continuously at the maximum power transfer point during overload conditions. The stabilized converter comprises a voltage control loop for regulating output voltage, and a stabilization loop for regulating input voltage. In a preferred embodiment, the stabilization loop senses the input voltage to the stabilized converter and compares it to a reference voltage. Whenever converter input voltage is above the maximum power transfer voltage, no action is taken by the stabilization loop, and the converter operates in the conventional manner. As converter input voltage approaches the maximum power transfer voltage, converter output voltage and corresponding converter input and output power are reduced to compensate.

Abstract: A sense amplifier comprises an input node and an output node. An input transistor has a gate connected to the input node, a source connected to a first supply voltage rail, and a drain. A cascode transistor has a gate connected to a cascode node, a source connected to the drain of the input transistor, and a drain connected to the output node. A load transistor has a gate connected to a bias node, a drain connected to the output node, and a source connected to a second supply voltage rail. The gates of the cascode transistor and the load transistor are biased such that the input transistor and the cascode transistor are operated near their threshold and the load transistor is operated above threshold. In a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, the input transistor and the cascode transistor of the sense amplifier are wide and short, such that they operate in below threshold, whereas the load transistor is made long and relatively narrow, so that it operates above threshold.

Abstract: A proximity sensor system includes a sensor matrix array having a characteristic capacitance between horizontal and vertical conductors connected to sensor pads. The capacitance changes as a function of the proximity of an object or objects to the sensor matrix. The change in capacitance of each node in both the X and Y directions of the matrix due to the approach of an object is converted to a set of voltages in the X and Y directions. These voltages are processed by analog circuitry to develop electrical signals representative of the centroid of the profile of the object, i.e, its position in the X and Y dimensions. The profile of position may also be integrated to provide Z-axis (pressure) information.

Abstract: A circuit design tool which includes an architecture for a multiplier which is faster and more compact than known multipliers through the use of Wallace trees, the elimination of Dadda nodes along the critical paths, the placement of half-adders at an initial pat of the Wallace tree, the replacement of low-order terminating adders with ripple-carry adders, and the replacement of high-order terminating adders with carry-select adders.

Abstract: A document that resists copying by ordinary color copiers and color scanners. An area that is printed with color dots using a gradient print screen that exceeds resolutions available on commonly available color copiers and color scanners. The area may therefore comprise lighter regions (having fewer screen lines per inch) and darker regions (having more screen lines per inch). Multiple colors may be printed with different gradient print screens, and regions which are darker or lighter for a first color may or may not be darker or lighter for a second color. The document may also comprise a second area that is printed with a moire pattern. The moire pattern may be generated by adjusting an angle between a pair of print screens, such as a pair of gradient print screens. A set of colors for printing may avoid common printing ink colors, may prefer yellow, light green, or light blue, and may avoid red, purple, or violet, to raise the difficulty in copying by color copiers or color scanners.

Abstract: An improved card game is provided. In particular, the present invention relates to a modification and improvement to .Iadd.card games where a player tries to reach one or more specified card count target values without exceeding the stated target value, such as .Iaddend.the well-known card game of blackjack or 21. A player is dealt first and second cards after placing an original bet, and then elects to stand or take an additional third card. If a third card is taken, the player is given the option of keeping the card, or replacing the card. If the third card is replaced, an additional wager is placed by the player, and a replacement to the third card is given. The player then elects to stand or take additional cards. After the player has taken all desired cards, the dealer's hand and player's hand are compared to determine a winner.