Abstract: Nanometer holes can be reliably and repeatedly defined in the tips of cantilevered probes and used in various types of scanning multiprobe microscopy by defining the hole within a layer disposed on the tip using focused electron or ion beams. The drilling of the hole on the apex of the tip and is stopped just as soon as the hole is defined through an overlying insulating layer under which lies a metallic or semiconductor layer at the apex. The hole is then backfilled with another metallic or semiconductor layer so that an active electrical junction is formed between the two layers through the hole in the insulating layer. The hole may be defined in conductive layers in various combinations with oxide layers, other metal layers and semiconductor materials to define Schottky diodes, thermocouple junctions, near-field optical detectors, and atomic force tips.

Abstract: The invention is a telephone system capable of operating on a single internal telephone line as commonly found in the home or small businesses, which is economically implemented within an integrated circuit chip to provide a one chip telephone and which provides most of the components necessary for a full-featured, reliable and easy to install office communication system. The multiband audio network (MAN) transfers four audio bands and a digital data band over a single twisted pair of wire. A 6,000 bits per second full duplex digital data channel is also provided on the same twisted pair. Each station unit includes all the control and interface support necessary to perform conventional telephone functions. These functions include a combination of keyboard and display support circuitry such as strobe and debounce circuitry, LED buffers, piezo ring drivers, control registers and communication hardware.

Abstract: A steerable or deflectable distal tip of a cardiac instrument is provided by creating a differential tension in a distal portion, causing the distal portion either to curve if originally straight, or to straighten if originally curved. The differential tension can be created by a pull or push wire disposed in a longitudinal lumen of the instrument, which wire is attached at its distal end to the instrument. In another embodiment, the differential tension is created by thermoelectrically heated by metallic strip which is disposed within a lumen within the instrument in the form of a stylet. In another embodiment, the stylet is deformed by virtue of differential tension being applied between a pair of strips comprising the stylet.

Abstract: Dynamically cooling the epidermis of a port wine stain patient undergoing laser therapy permits maximization of the thermal damage to the port wine stain while at the same time minimizing nonspecific injury to the normal overlying epidermis. A cryogenic spurt is applied to the skin surface for a predetermined short period of time in the order of tens of milliseconds so that the cooling remains localized in epidermis while leaving the temperature of deeper port wine stain vessels substantially unchanged. The result is that epidermal denaturation and necrosis which normally occurs in uncooled laser irradiated skin sites does not occur and that clinically significant blanching of the port wine stains at the dynamically cooled sites establishes that selective laser photothermolysis of the port wine stain blood vessels is achieved. In addition, dynamic epidermal cooling reduces patient discomfort normally associated with flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser therapy.

Abstract: The invention is an improved bank select read only memory in which the bit lines and virtual ground lines are precharged to ground instead of being precharged to an internal low supply voltage. Both of the two virtual ground lines are selected for the selected bit and both selected virtual ground lines are driven to ground during the precharge phase. At the top of the memory array, all virtual ground lines in the memory array are precharged to ground during the precharge phase. Next, during the sensing phase, the operation of the two virtual ground lines for the selected bit is changed to selectively hold one virtual ground line at ground and switch the second virtual ground line to a positive voltage. All bit lines are precharged to ground during the precharge phase. In the following sensing phase, the selected bit line is driven positive by the selected memory core FET if it is programmed with a low threshold voltage.

Abstract: A graffiti protected glass window for a vehicle can be quickly refurbished by changing a thin plastic guard window overlying the glass pane. The plastic guard window is retained within a resilient elastomeric mount which also retains the glass pane within the rigid window frame. A window guard seating space is defined along one side in a upper portion of the seating space defined in the mount for accommodating the glass pane. The side of the mount into which the window guard seating space is defined is molded so as to be slightly inwardly inclined to assist in weather sealing the window guard. The mount is selectively locked and unlocked by the use of a conventional locking channel and locking strip. The window guard is easily removed and reinserted using conventional hand tools.

Abstract: Phycocyanins selectively impregnate biological structures including atherosclerotic plaque and tumors. Imaging of biological structures can be enhanced by tagging to a phycocyanin an atom which is compatible with the or complementary to any of the imaging modalities. The tagged phycocyanin can then be administered to a subject. The improvement can be utilized to enhance images of all structures, arterial wall thickness, atherosclerotic plaque, luminal boundaries and to better delineate tumors mass outlines.

Abstract: The mode-locked laser with improved pulse power output can be realized by combining an optical oscillator with a flared CW or modulated gain amplifier. An optical filter or isolator may be disposed between the oscillator and amplifier to avoid feedback of spontaneous noise. A two-segment laser is devised by providing a flared gain section between a modulated gain section and an absorber section within the integrated semiconductor laser. The flared section may taper from a larger modulated gain section to a smaller cross section absorber section or vice versa. Various combinations of absorber sections coupled to modulated gain sections by CW gain or passive flared gain sections may be combined with various arrangements of reflectors and tapered CW gain amplifiers are cascades of such amplifiers and modulated gain pairs.

Abstract: The time, difficulty, and expense of running DNA sequencing gels is substantially reduced by running the DNA sequence in a minigel of approximately 8.times.11 cm at a reduced electrophoretic voltage and without preheating the buffer solution in contact with the gel. The image produced from the sequence gel or autoradiograph is then scanned with a CCD line camera. The pixel map of the autoradiograph image is then magnified using software techniques within the computer so that it is displayed on the CRT screen at an increased scale permitting easy visual separation between the DNA bands.

Abstract: The mode-locked laser with improved pulse power output can be realized by combining an optical oscillator with a flared CW or modulated gain amplifier. An optical filter or isolator may be disposed between the oscillator and amplifier to avoid feedback of spontaneous noise. A two-segment laser is devised by providing a flared gain section between a modulated gain section and an absorber section within the integrated semiconductor laser. The flared section may taper from a larger modulated gain section to a smaller cross section absorber section or vice versa. Various combinations of absorber sections coupled to modulated gain sections by CW gain or passive flared gain sections may be combined with various arrangements of reflectors and tapered CW gain amplifiers are cascades of such amplifiers and modulated gain pairs.

Abstract: A multimedia object is declustered across a multiple of disk drives to employ the aggregate bandwidth of the several disk drives so that continuous retrieval or display of the object is achieved. The clusters are logically defined across a plurality of disk drives instead of being physically defined so that two consecutive subobjects comprising the data object may be on the same disks. The subobjects are assigned to the disks so that the first fragment of one subobject is k disks apart from the drive that contains the first fragment of the preceding subobject, where k is a fixed stride.

Abstract: A two dimensional encoded filter for providing wavelength and time shifted output signals is comprised of a photonic integrated device in which the input signal is optically demultiplexed into a plurality of wavelength components, fed back on optically time-delayed feedback paths to a multiplexer which reassembles the signal into a true-time delay wavelength shifted output. The photonic demultiplexer and multiplexer are comprised of a first optical star coupler having a plurality of inputs in which the center input is provided with the input signal. The first star coupler transmits the input signal across a phased array waveguide grating to a second star coupler across which the waveguide components are demultiplexed.

Abstract: An permanent indwelling catheter is provided with a selectively inflatable exterior balloon valve to to seal one or more orifices defined in the catheter wall or tip. The longitudinal lumen may either comprise a single central axial lumen or a plurality of subdivided lumens within the catheter body. The orifices may be defined through the side wall of the catheter at variable points along its length and/or may be defined in the tip of the catheter. In embodiment, the expansible membrane is disposed in the proximity of a distal tip orifice and is inflated to completely fill the space of the tip and extend into the tip orifice to seal it. In yet another embodiment, the membrane valve, is comprised of two or more separate membrane portions which are simultaneously inflated against each other and adjacent surfaces within the catheter to provide a sealing wall and means for sealing the orifice.

Abstract: The address transition detection circuit is improved by holding the previously latched address signal until a predetermined delay after receipt of the new address signal.

Abstract: A clock recovery circuit based upon an early-late gate approach is applied to high speed serial communication links using NRZ data. The circuit has no systematic phase offset and therefore requires no external phase adjustment circuits or mechanisms. The circuit is used in high speed integrated receivers for applications including fiber optics, disk-drive read/write electronics, mobile communications and high rate- twisted pair data transmission in multimedia systems. Quadrature samples are obtained and held which follow the shape of the NRZ data transition as a function of phase offset. The data signal is passed through the limiter giving rise to a sawtooth shaped phase error signal. A derivative of the error function is taken to provide a frequency error signal to provide for frequency detection and assistance in frequency acquisition of the phase lock loop circuit generating the recovered clock signal from a variably controlled oscillator.

Abstract: A quasi-optical power combining array provides broadband, well heat sinked performance by means of coupling an array of parallel slotline transition modules between a input waveguide and an output waveguide. Each slotline transition module is comprised of a heat sinked ceramic substrate upon which a pair of tapered slot transitions is defined, each of which lead to a quasi-optical element such as an amplifier, which in turn is coupled to a corresponding pair of tapered slot transitions leading to the output waveguide. Each slotline module is symmetrically formed to maximize input and output tuning and selectively balanced operation.

Abstract: An improved precharge timing control is provided by turning off the first one of a series of precharge clocks PC0 by means of discharging a single dummy word line. The dummy word line is comprised of a plurality of dummy word line segments wherein each of the segments are charged in parallel, but discharged in series. The discharge time required of the plurality of word line segments is sufficient to allow discharge of an end of a selected word line in the read only memory to ground. Improved timing with good performance is achieved by turning off the earliest precharge clock PC0 among a series of precharge clocks PC0 and PC1, for example, so that an improved precharge time for the ROM core for a fast process parameter is realized.

Abstract: The gradient coil currents driving the RF gradient coil within an magnetic resonance imaging system are noninvasively monitored with Hall-effect sensors to produce a real-time, k-space map of the scanning gradient coil currents. The k-space map, when visually depicted, readily displays imperfections in the magnetic resonance imaging scanning hardware and software, more particularly in the scanning gradient coil currents. Based on the k-space map imperfections which are determined from analysis of the k-space map, operation of the magnetic resonance imaging system may be remotely monitored in real-time, and remotely repaired or altered to improve the magnetic resonance image quality. The k-space, real-time map can also be used as a real-time system development for use as a research and design tool for magnetic resonance imaging systems.

Abstract: What is described in the present specification are accelerometers using tiny proof masses and piezoresistive force detection. Conventional wisdom would indicate that this approach would not yield useful sensors. However, in fact, according to the invention, such devices are suitable in a wide range of applications. The devices may include deformable hinges to allow the fabrication of three dimensional structures. A new system has been developed which etches silicon highly selectively at moderate temperatures and without hydrodynamic forces potentially damaging to small structures and features. The system is based on the use of the gas phase etchant xenon diflouride, which is an unremarkable white solid at standard temperature and pressure.

Abstract: Automatic detection of excessive oscillations in feedback control loops of a completely general nature can be achieved by generating an autocorrelation function of the controlled variable or control error in the control loop. From the pattern of the autocorrelation, a decay ratio which is a function of the depth of the first minimum and height of the first maximum of the oscillation in the autocorrelation function can be generated as a measure of the oscillation in the control loop. When the decay ratio exceeds a predetermined threshold, an alarm or report can be provided indicating that an excessive oscillation has occurred and to what degree. The source of the oscillation, that is whether it is within the monitored control loop or from a source external to the control loop can then be determined and the necessary remedy applied including a step input signal to the final control element in the control loop.