Abstract: Apparatus for gripping and lifting objects such as fence posts. A frame carries a pair of grippers that are slidingly movable along the frame to grasp a post or other object. The grippers may pivot so that the object remains in essentially constant vertical orientation despite arcuate motion of a tractor or other lifting machine by which the frame is lifted. The grippers may be actuated by hydraulic or other power provided by the lifting machine.

Abstract: A method of calibrating a high-speed analog to digital converter and an ADC that implements the method. Multiple linear regression analysis is used to calibrate the stages of a pipeline ADC to compensate for variations in gain from stage to stage and optionally to compensate for harmonic distortion. Current amplifiers each having gain of about 1.6 are used for low power consumption, minimal surface area requirements, and rapid sampling speed. Weighting factors are stored in lookup tables to minimize the number of adders required to generate the output digital word.

Abstract: An organic electroluminescent device with a conducting polymer layer beneath the hole transport layer. A conducting polymer layer of doped polyaniline (PANI) is spin-cast onto an indium-tin oxide (ITO) anode coating on a glass substrate. Then a hole transport layer, for example TPD or another aromatic tertiary amine, is vapor-deposited onto the conducting polymer layer, followed by an electron transport layer and a cathode. Polyester may be blended into the PANI before spin-casting and then removed by a selective solvent after the spincasting, leaving a microporous layer of PANI on the anode. The conducting polymer layer may instead be made of a .pi.-conjugated oxidized polymer or of TPD dispersed in a polymer binder that is doped with an electron-withdrawing compound. An additional layer of copper-phthalocyanine, or of TPD in a polymer binder, may be disposed between the conducting polymer layer and the hole transport layer.

Abstract: A fixture for supporting a double-sided surface mount printed circuit board during installation of components on a second side of the board. After components have been installed on one side of the board, a slab of controllably shapable material such as thermally compliant foam is shaped by pressing it against the board under heat and pressure to conform to the shape of the board and its components. When the material cools, it is used to support the board during the installation of components on the other side. In an alternate embodiment, a viscous substance is used as the shapable material and is conformed to the shape of the board while the substance is being hardened. A board on which components are being installed may be held in place on the fixture by a vacuum which is supplied from a manifold through holes in the fixture to the board.

Abstract: A novel BICMOS output buffer is taught including circuit means for firstly discharging the bases of the bipolar pull up and bipolar pull down transistors, and secondly to connect the base of an output transistor to its emitter when that output transistor is conducting, thereby insuring maximum voltage swing of the output voltage. The circuit means comprises an MOS transistor for discharging the base of an output transistor, and a depletion mode MOS transistor for connecting the base of an output transistor to its emitter. By utilizing MOS and depletion mode transistors, a significant area advantage is achieved, particularly when the MOS and depletion mode transistors are merged.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a coplanar, self-aligned contact structure in a semiconductor device. Polysilicon pads are placed on top of field oxide regions which adjoin source and drain diffusion regions of the device. Strips of highly conductive material such as titanium silicide or titanium nitride are formed on top of each pad; each strip extends down a side of its pad to an adjoining diffusion region, thereby establishing a conductive path between the diffusion region and the top of the pad. Contacts are established by etching holes through a passivation layer which covers the device to reach the conductive strips on top of the pads.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a semiconductor device in an integrated circuit. A conductive titanium layer is deposited on a substrate in which source, drain and gate regions have been created. A titanium nitride layer is applied as a cap over the titanium layer. A first anneal at a relatively low temperature is performed, causing portions of the titanium which are adjacent the silicon surface to form a titanium-silicon compound and causing the remaining titanium and titanium nitride to form a nitride coating. This nitride coating is etched away and a final high-temperature anneal is performed, resulting in thick, smooth titanium silicide (TiSi.sub.2) layers on the source and drain regions and gate pads.