Abstract: A radiotelephone (RT) operates in either a cellular telephone mode or a cordless telephone mode within a cellular telecommunications system. The RT operates in the cordless mode if it is within the operating range of a cordless base station. The cordless base station receives data from a central telephone office, converts the data into a transmittable caller ID message, and transmits the caller ID message to the RT. The RT receives the caller ID message and displays it in a readable form to the user. The caller ID message may be saved at the RT for subsequent retrieval by the user. In addition, a speed dial operation may be performed to respond to the caller ID message.

Abstract: A device placement or diebonding head for a diebonding apparatus including a chamber with openings in its end walls, a rod-and-piston combination extending through the chamber with the rod ends protruding through the openings, a gas inlet port into the chamber above or below the piston, and gas pressure resisting means to resist movement of said piston in response to gas pressure. The diebonding head rod has an axial bore therethrough. Its upper end is configured for connection to a vacuum source and its placement end is configured for mounting of a vacuum tool. Thus, force exerted by the rod placement end on a device being diebonded is adjustable by adjusting the gas pressure relative to the resisting means force. The gas inlet may be above or below the piston. The resisting means may be a helical spring in the same or the opposite end of the chamber as the gas inlet. Alternatively, the resisting means may be pressure from gas entering the opposite end of the chamber from the first gas inlet port.

Abstract: Apparatus and a method of implementing a notification and hold service in a telephone network is disclosed. A calling telecommunications device is placed on hold by the called telecommunications device, and signals an auxiliary computer system through a network switch that the calling telecommunications device is to be disconnected from the called telecommunications device. The calling telecommunications device is notified at a later time that the called telecommunications device is no longer on hold. In another embodiment of the invention, the calling telecommunications device is connected to customer premise equipment which notifies that calling telecommunications device that the called telecommunications device is no longer on hold.

Abstract: A frequency hopping synthesizer is constructed from two FET-based multiplier circuits each responsive to a carrier input signal and a modulation signal to produce respective output signals which are in-phase combined to provide a frequency-shifted signal. The multiplier circuits each comprise two dual-gate field effect transistor (FET) amplifiers which are electrically balanced to suppress unmodulated carrier components so that only the modulated carrier signal appears. The respective carrier input signals and modulation signals are in quadrature phase relationship. A direct digital synthesizer controllably generates signal components which serve as the modulation signals for the multiplier circuits.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling access to a shared channel for cell transmission in a shared medium network, wherein the shared medium distribution portion of said network extends from a node to a plurality of terminals within a community, having a tree-and-branch bus topology, has a downstream broadcast channel from said node to all terminals on said distribution network; a shared upstream channel from all of said terminals to said node; and a network controller at said node for central control of access of media transmissions from said terminals over said upstream channel. Media access control protocols reside in said controller and in said terminals. An asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) network element with said controller has ATM shared channel protocols to provide dynamic bandwidth allocation of said upstream channel. The system grants access to said shared upstream channel to any of said terminals utilizing a plurality of multiplexing modes of operation.

Abstract: An optical amplifier is used as a frequency-selective high-gain element in a subcarrier-multiplexed fiber optic transmission system. A high-speed diode laser optical transmitter is modulated by a plurality of independent information channels that are carried on separate, appropriately spaced carrier frequencies. An optical receiver, coupled to the transmitter by way of an optical fiber, includes a narrow-bandpass semiconductor laser optical amplifier having a gain bandwidth smaller than wavelength distances between adjacent ones of the carrier frequencies, a photodetector coupled to the output of the amplifier, and polarization controlling means coupled to the fiber in front of the optical amplifier for maximizing gain in the optical amplifier.

Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed which is advantageously used in local area, metropolitan-area, and wide-area networks using a dual bus architecture, and more particularly to a dual bus network design having significantly increased distance before termination or regeneration of the optical signal, and using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) at one optical wavelength to transmit data over the bus and a second optical wavelength to transmit a clock signal and a CATV video signal.

Abstract: Subcarrier multiplexed acknowledgment tones are used for contention recovery in multiple-access WDM networks with basedband data packets and subcarrier multiplexed control headers. Upon receiving a data message from another node, the receiving node sends a subcarrier acknowledgement tone to the transmitter thus informing the transmitting node that the message has been received. The thoughput of the network is significantly improved. In an alternative embodiment, an acknowledgement is sent from the receiver by impressing a data message on a subcarrier.

Abstract: A diode laser (2) including multiple quantum wells (26) of AlGaInAs in either compressive or tensile strain and barrier layers (28), wherein the conduction band confines the electron preferably to at least 150 meV, or at least 135 meV, such that the diode laser is efficient and can operate for extended periods at elevated temperatures up to 85.degree. C. and above.

Abstract: Our method and system for enumerating a minimal number of test cases for systems with interacting elements operates relationships between the elements and the number of characteristics evaluated for each element. In our inventive method as executed in a computer system, the user enters values for each of the elements and then defines relationships between the elements. Our method then enumerates a table of test cases for each relationship between elements using deterministic procedures, when applicable, and random procedures when the deterministic procedures are not applicable. After a table of test cases is generated for each of the relation, our inventive method combines relationships into a single table of test cases.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are provided for photonic contention resolution in a switch including a plurality of input modules and a plurality of output modules, wherein at least two of the plurality of input modules have cells to be transmitted to a destination output module. The photonic contention resolution device includes a plurality of coherent light sources for emitting a beam of coherent light and a plurality of tunable receivers. Each of the coherent light sources and tunable receivers are tunable by an associated input module to a plurality of distinct wavelengths. Each tunable laser preferably illuminates at least one of the plurality of tunable receivers at the particular wavelength associated with the destination output module such that one of the at least two input modules transmits its cell to the destination output module if none of the plurality of coherent light sources is illuminating its associated tunable receiver at the particular wavelength.

Abstract: A system and method for accessing directory information over a telephony network employing the ADSI protocol and for presenting the directory information at the user's conventional TV monitor are described. The system includes a directory service unit, a telephony network, such as the public switched telephony network, and multiple user interface units. The directory service unit receives, processes, and stores in memory directory information from directory information providers which information is transmitted to the user interface unit of requesting users on demand. The directory service unit is connected to user interface units via the telephony network and uses the ADSI protocol to communicate data and voice signals containing directory information to users.

Abstract: Lithium intercalation compounds suitable for use in high capacity secondary battery electrodes are prepared by reacting together at a temperature in the range of about 800.degree. to 900.degree. C. lithium and manganese compounds in a stoichiometric ratio resulting in a Li.sub.x Mn.sub.2 O.sub.4 compound wherein x is within the range of about 1.00 to 1.20. The resulting compound is annealed at a temperature in excess of about 800.degree. C. and cooled to at least about 500.degree. C. at the rate less than about 10.degree. C. per hour before being finally cooled to ambient working temperature. Intercalation electrodes comprising these lithiated compounds are used in secondary batteries to yield stable, extended capacities in excess of 110 AHr/Kg.

Abstract: A method for routing multicast packets in a network is disclosed. A node s101 wishing to join a particular multicast group transmits a packet via a sequence of nodes (r101, r102, r104, r107) including a core node r107 on the multicast tree corresponding to the particular multicast group which the node wishes to join. The packet contains a request to join the particular multicast group and the multicast address of the core node r107 of the multicast tree corresponding to the particular multicast group. The packet is received at each node r101, r102, r104, r107 of the sequence of nodes. Each node r101, r102, r104, r107 which receives the packet writes an address of the node s101, r101, r102, r104 from which the packet was received in an entry of a multicast forwarding table maintained thereat which entry is indexed by the multicast address of the core node r107.

Abstract: An inventive arbiter controls access to a resource in a high speed computer or telecommunications network. The arbiter is capable of performing round-robin scheduling for N requests with P possible priority levels with a sublinear time complexity. The high arbitration speed is achieved through use of a tree structure with a token distribution system for implementing the round-robin scheduling policy.

Abstract: Methodology, and associated circuitry, for encoding and decoding an incoming data stream utilize a coordinated code constellation that effects robust signal detection in the presence of channel interference. The encoder partitions the incoming data stream into contiguous data segments in proportion to the number of levels for a given coordinated code. Each data segment is mapped with reference to the coordinated code to signal levels suitable for transmission over a plurality of channels. The decoder measures the received signals on the channels and estimates noise statistics for the channels. A metric relationship engendered by the coordinated code is evaluated with reference to the received signals, estimates to the received signals, and the noise statistics. An output data stream is then generated based on the evaluation of the metric.

Abstract: The disclosed adaptive finite impulse response (FIR) digital filter architecture computes tap coefficient updates in parallel with and simultaneously with the computation of the filter output at each iteration. The filter includes a filter output processor (206) and a tap update processor (212) which respectively process, in parallel, the filter output and the coefficient updates for a subsequent iteration. The filter output processor and the tap update processor form their respective outputs at each iteration from input signal values at previous iterations stored in a filter input memory (203) and from tap coefficients stored in a filter taps memory (205). In even-numbered iterations only the even-numbered taps are updated and in odd-numbered iterations only the odd-numbered taps are updated.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for extracting dielectric constants from ellipsometric data taken during the growth of a semiconductor thin film and using the extracted dielectric constants to control the composition of the growing film by adjusting the growth conditions. An expression is used for the derivative of the pseudo-dielectric function with respect to the thickness of the thin film within a three-phase model, and the expression is exact to first order in thickness of the film. The expression is quadratic with respect to the dielectric function for a homogeneous thin film and additionally depends on the dielectric function of homogeneous substrate underlying the thin film. Values of the measured pseudo-dielectric function are substituted for the dielectric function of the substrate, and the expression is then solved for the dielectric function of the thin film.

Abstract: A method and system for determining a conflict in a database transaction processing system between a specific transaction and one or more other transactions utilizes a certification system (30). The certification system (30) comprises a memory (32) which contains a log of database activity. The log is periodically broadcast over a channel (42) to a plurality of filters (43) which determine if there are conflicts between particular transactions. The inventive system and method perform optimistic concurrency control in a database transaction processing system in a highly efficient manner.

Abstract: A method for using an expert system to validate the customized call processing information (CCPI) records which permit a customer to customize services in a telephone network. The information corresponding to a CCPI record is converted into a set of "schemas" for evaluation by the expert system. These "schemas" are tested against a set of rules by the expert system which indicates errors in the CCPI record.