Abstract: A distributed feedback (DFB) laser is made with a spatially graded optical coupling (.kappa.) between its diffraction grating and its active layer by means of selective area epitaxial growth of the epitaxial layer from which the grating is formed. More specifically, the epitaxial layer is formed on a major surface of a semiconductor substrate on which a mask, such as a silicon dioxide mask, has been formed. The mask has a pair of segments spaced apart by a fixed distance, the segments having spatially variable widths. Advantageously the epitaxial layer has a refractive index that is different from that of the substrate at the operating wavelength of the laser. The epitaxial layer is then etched into stripes. In this way the heights of the resulting grating stripes will be spatially variable, and so will the coupling .kappa. between the grating and the active layer. In this way, the properties of the optical output of the laswer can be adjusted.

Abstract: An optical probe microscope includes an optical fiber oriented in a vertical direction. The fiber has a tip that emits light onto a horizontal surface of a sample to be measured. This surface can have both desired and undesired departures from planarity. An electromechanical device for imparting dither motion to the fiber tip is superposed on another electromechanical device for imparting two-dimensional horizontal scanning motion to the fiber tip. The dither motion has a much higher frequency than that of the scanning motion. Between successive scannings, another device moves the sample itself from one horizontal position to another. A microscope receives the optical radiation either transmitted or reflected by the sample surface. The microscope forms a (magnified) image of this received optical radiation on the surface of an optical image position detector. The surface of this detector has a relatively large area compared with that of the (magnified) image.

Abstract: A piezoelectric micropositioning device includes, in one embodiment, four single-crystal piezoelectric bodies cut in the form of single-crystal parallel slabs from a single larger single crystal. Each of the single-crystal slabs has a separate electrode attached to an opposing major surface. One of the end faces of each of the slabs is fixed to a substrate; the other of the end faces is fixed to a holder. In response to voltages applied to the electrodes, the holder can be moved in two or three linearly independent directions, depending upon the applied voltages. In another embodiment, only a single piezoelectric body, preferably in the shape of a column and in conjunction with at least four electrodes located on the side surfaces of the column, is required for such motion in two or three directions.

Abstract: This invention involves a fiber probe device and a method of making it. The probe includes a relatively thick upper cylindrical portion, typically in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, terminating in a tapered portion that terminates in a relatively thin lower cylindrical portion, typically also in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, the lower portion having a width (diameter) in the approximate range of as little as approximately 0.05 .mu.m.

Abstract: This invention involves a fiber probe device and a method of making it. The probe includes a relatively thick upper cylindrical region, typically in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, terminating in a tapered region that terminates in a relatively thin lower cylindrical region (tip), typically also in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, the lower region having a width (diameter) in the approximate range 0.01 .mu.m to 150 .mu.m.

Abstract: Only one or only a few channels are sent at a time from circuitry located in a curbside box, via a link such as either a coaxial or a fiber cable, into a customer's home TV set or personal computer. However, many more than a few channels are delivered to the curbside box, via a link such as a fiber or a coaxial cable, from a central office or a central bank of paid video-movies to be selected by the customers. Thus whereas the link from the central office or central bank is relatively broad-band (e.g. 500 MHz to 1,000 MHz), the cable from the curbside to the home (or any other kind of building) can be relatively narrow-band (e.g., 5 MHz to 50 MHz). The curbside box serves a multitude of homes--a separate (narrow-band) cable running to each home from the (same) curbside switch. Each channel can be a free radio or free TV channel, a stored or an on-line newspaper pay channel, or a pay TV channel, or a pay-per-view channel (i.e.

Abstract: An optical probe microscope includes an optical fiber oriented in a vertical direction. The fiber has a tip that emits light onto a horizontal surface of a sample to be measured. This surface can have both desired and undesired departures from planarity. An electromechanical device for imparting dither motion to the fiber tip is superposed on another electromechanical device for imparting two-dimensional horizontal scanning motion to the fiber tip. The dither motion has a much higher frequency than that of the scanning motion. Between successive scannings, another device moves the sample itself from one horizontal position to another. A microscope receives the optical radiation either transmitted or reflected by the sample surface. The microscope forms a (magnified) image of this received optical radiation on the surface of an optical image position detector. The surface of this detector has a relatively large area compared with that of the (magnified) image.

Abstract: This invention involves a fiber probe device and a method of making it. The probe includes a relatively thick upper cylindrical portion, typically in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, terminating in a tapered portion that terminates in a relatively thin lower cylindrical portion, typically also in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, the lower portion having a width (diameter) in the approximate range of as little as approximately 0.05 .mu.m.

Abstract: This invention involves apparatus for determining the thermal resistivities W.sub.s (=1/.kappa..sub.s) of electrically insulating, crystalline or polycrystalline samples under test (SUTs), all comprising host material such as CVD diamond. Once the optical absorptivities .alpha..sub.1 and .alpha..sub.2 and the thermal resistivities W.sub.1 and W.sub.2 of at least two other crystalline or polycrystalline bodies B.sub.1 and B.sub.2, respectively, comprising the same host material as the SUTs, and containing the same type of impurity or combination of impurities as the SUTs, are measured by some other technique--the inventive apparatus can then determine the thermal resistivities W.sub.s of the SUTs rather quickly from a measurement only of the optical absorptivities a.sub.s of the SUTs. These determinations of the thermal resistivities W.sub.s of the SUTs rely on our discovery that the following linear relationship exists: W=A+C.alpha.

Abstract: This invention involves an optical system in which optical radiation containing a wavelength .lambda. is directed onto a patterned mask, in order to form an image feature on a photoresist layer located on the image plane of the system. The patterned mask has a main object feature, which has the form of the image feature. The object feature has a portion whose width is everywhere less than (1.5).lambda./NA, where NA is the numerical aperture of the image side of the system. An assist feature whose width is everywhere less than (0.5).lambda./NA is located on the mask in a neighborhood of the portion of the main object feature. Advantageously, the optical radiation is directed through an annular aperture ("off-axis illumination") in an opaque screen and through a collimating lens onto the mask. In one exemplary situation, the assist feature is located outside the main object feature and has a distance of closest approach to the main object feature that is everywhere equal to less than .lambda./NA.

Abstract: A phase-shifting optical lithographic mask has a set of phase shifting features and a set of alignment marks, all having a common thickness and being made of a common material, such as chromium oxynitride, that is partially transparent to optical radiation used in an optical lithographic system. Both of these sets are located on a slab of quartz. An alignment shutter layer laterally intervenes between the alignment marks and the phase-shifting features, in order to suppress optical radiation leakage from the phase-shifting features to the alignment areas. A portion of the top surface of the alignment shutter layer and the entire top surface of the reinforced alignment marks are reinforced by an opaque layer, such as chrome. In addition, another similarly reinforced layer, a chip shutter layer, can be laterally located at an extremity of the reinforced alignment marks, in order to suppress optical radiation leakage from one chip area to another in step-and-repeat lithography.

Abstract: A portion of a surface of a sample body is arranged to receive an incident optical beam having an optical intensity I.sub.0. On an opposing surface of the sample body is located an optical detector which senses the intensity I of the resulting optical radiation emerging from the opposing surface of the sample body. In order to measure the thickness t of the sample body, a thickness gauge is located either at another portion of the surface of the sample body or on the optical detector.

Abstract: The thermal resistivities W.sub.s (=1/.kappa..sub.s) of electrically insulating, crystalline or polycrystalline samples under test (SUTs), all comprising host material such as CVD diamond, can be determined rather quickly once the thermal resistivities W=1/.kappa. of at least two other host crystalline or polycrystalline bodies B.sub.1 and B.sub.2 comprising the same host material as that of the SUTs, and containing the same type of impurity or combination of impurities as the SUTs, are measured by some other technique. These determinations of these thermal resistivities W.sub.s of the SUTs thus require only the measurements of the optical absorptivities .alpha..sub.1 and .alpha..sub.2 and of the thermal resistivities W.sub.1 and W.sub.2, respectively, of at least each of the two other bodies B.sub.1 and B.sub.2 and only of the optical absorptivities .alpha..sub.s of each of the SUTs by such other technique. These determinations of W.sub.

Abstract: Circuitry that controls a multiple-plate charged particle beam deflection arrangement includes a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) acting through a separate accumulating Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) connected to each of the plates. For each line to be scanned, at the commencement of the scanning of the line, the DSP delivers to each accumulating ALU a separate signal composed of a digital number representing an initial value (if any) and a digital number representing a step size. During each subsequent cycle of a clock, each accumulating ALU successively adds the step size to a resulting cumulative sum. This cumulative sum depends upon the initial value (if any) plus the step size multiplied by the number of cycles that have elapsed since the initial cycle.

Abstract: This invention involves a fiber probe device and a method of making it. The probe includes a relatively thick upper cylindrical portion, typically in the form of a solid fight circular cylinder, terminating in a tapered portion that terminates in a relatively thin lower cylindrical portion, typically also in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, the lower portion having a width (diameter) in the approximate range of as little as approximately 0.05 .mu.m.

Abstract: The gate electrode of a polysilicon gate MOS transistor--the transistor having either a thin film polysilicon substrate or a bulk monocrystalline substrate--has a pair of contiguous regions: a heavily doped gate electrode region near the source, and a lightly doped gate electrode region near the drain. The gate electrode region near the drain is thus doped significantly more lightly, in order to reduce electric fields in the channel region in the neighborhood of the drain (and hence reduce field induced leakage currents) when voltages are applied to turn transistor OFF. At the same time, sufficient impurity doping is introduced into the gate electrode region near the source in order to enable the transistor to turn ON when other suitable voltages are applied.

Abstract: Each memory cell in an SRAM array contains an auxiliary reading transistor connected across one of the transistors in each cell. A row read line controls the ON-OFF condition of this auxiliary reading transistor. In addition, each cell has two access transistors for connecting the cell to complementary column bit lines The ON-OFF condition of both of these access transistors is controlled by a row write line. Each cell has two power nodes, one connected to a power source such as VDD and the other connected to a column detector line that terminates in a current sensor. The state of the memory cell is sensed by this current sensor. In one embodiment, the power line that brings the voltage VDD to the cells is a column line; in another embodiment, it is a row line. Thus there are a total of four column lines and two row lines in the one embodiment, and a total of three column lines and three row lines in the other embodiment.

Abstract: A phase-shifting optical lithographic mask is made by a method that produces a set of phase shifting features (11) located in phase-shifting areas and a set of reinforced alignment marks (13, 33) located in alignment areas of the mask. Both of these sets are located on a single slab of quartz (10). The method involves a lift-off step that results in the self-alignment of the alignment marks with respect to the phase-shifting features. All of the phase-shifting features together with all of the alignment marks are patterned during a single step, and all of them comprise a bottom layer (11) of common material and common thickness so as to be partially transparent to optical radiation used in an optical lithographic system. Typically the bottom layer is essentially chromium oxynitride.

Abstract: This invention involves a fiber probe device and a method of making it. The probe includes a relatively thick upper cylindrical region, typically in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, terminating in a tapered region that terminates in a relatively thin lower cylindrical region (tip), typically also in the form of a solid right circular cylinder, the lower region having a width (diameter) in the approximate range 0.01 .mu.m to 150 .mu.m.

Abstract: In an optical lithographical system (e.g., 100) for printing features of a patterned mask (e.g., 103) into a workpiece (e.g., 120), such as in a semiconductor device, a one- or two-dimensional (depending on the features of the mask) optical transmission phase-shift diffracting device (e.g., 107) is inserted between an optical condensor (e.g., 105) and the patterned mask whose features are to be printed into the workpiece. The diffracting device is designed so as to enable an imaging lens system (e.g., 102) to collect more than merely a single order of the resulting diffraction patterns of the features of the mask and, by varying the spatial periodicity of the diffracting device, to tailor the illumination incident on the mask in accordance with the features (e.g., 114, 115) of the mask.