Abstract: A cavity ring-down spectroscopy system and method is provided for detecting and resolving the ring-down pulse-by-pulse. The pulse-by-pulse cavity ring-down spectroscopy system enables for measuring absorption spectra of rapidly evolving systems on the order of the roundtrip time. The pulse-by-pulse analysis of ring-down profiles enables non-exponential ring-down absorption dynamics to be determined.

Abstract: A device and method with miniature and tunable MRI receiver coil for catheters is provided that can be used in minimally invasive procedures and intravascular imaging. An MRI receiver coil for catheter procedures is provided having an impedance matching element that includes at least one miniature transmission line cable which are interconnected to construct the impedance matching element. In a particular embodiment, the miniature transmission line cables are constructed to make an inductance matching element defining an inductance L. In another particular embodiment, the miniature transmission line cable is a capacitance matching element defining a capacitance C. The present invention provides a system and method that allows local fine-tuning with a higher signal-to-noise ratio. Transmission line cables also overcome the minimum size limits of fixed components. The shielded and balance techniques further reduce noise and improve safety.

Abstract: A method of optimizing the exposure times of regions of pixels of an image sensor array during exposure is accomplished by utilizing time interval sampling of an image sensor array comprising of pixels configured to generate digital image signals. Luminance values are extracted from each digital image signal and analyzed to determine if a pixel has reached the optimal exposure. If a pixel has reached the optimal exposure, subsequent digital image signals from this pixel will not be recorded. This preserves the recording of the optimal digital image signal generated by the pixel at the time when the pixel reached its optimal exposure. This process of selectively terminating the recording of digital image signals based on optimal exposures of the pixels can be performed on individual pixels or can be performed on a region of pixels.

Abstract: An optical system for simultaneously compensating a source drift of a light source and a detector drift of a light detector includes a test location, a first beam path from the light source to the test location, a second beam path from the test location to the light detector. First and second beam paths are arranged to intersect at a beam crossing. A calibration sample having a known reflectivity is positioned at the test location and illuminated by a probe beam generated by the light source. A known response beam of the calibration sample is used for calibrating the light source and the detector. A reference sample is placed at the beam crossing and illuminated by the probe beam. In response, the reference sample sends a reference beam along the second path length, which is used for compensating the source and detector drift.

Abstract: A blank panel for use with rack units. The blank panel comprises at least one face plate having a rectangular front plate surface, a back plate surface, top plate surface, bottom plate surface and two side plate surfaces. The face plate has a height corresponding to multiples of 1.75 inches. The face plate incorporates at least one recess for slidably receiving fasteners. The blank panel further comprises fasteners with mating portions for being slidably engaged with the face plate, and fastening portions for being further attachable to a rack unit. The fasteners have varied geometry to accommodate rack units with alternate configurations. The blank panel further comprises a plurality of face plates attached along the top and bottom plate surfaces. Each of the face plates is capable of individually receiving fasteners. The individual face plates of the blank panel are also modular and can be separated to configure the blank panel to varied height requirements.

Abstract: A method for range scanning consists of projecting a sequence of radiation patterns onto a scene, capturing images of the scene, determining correspondences between image features and projection pattern features, and computing a range image of the scene by triangulation of the correspondences. Novel projection patterns allow tracking of pattern features between images, so that range images can be computed for moving scenes in real time. Global assumptions about surface continuity or reflectivity of the scene are not required for successful range scanning. Projection patterns may be based on two-stripe codes, parallel stripes of bright and dark intensity. In two-stripe coded patterns, pattern features are the boundaries between stripes, which take on values of either on-on, on-off, off-on, or off-off. A particular boundary's value over the entire pattern sequence defines its code, used to determine correspondences between the boundary image and its location in the projection pattern.

Abstract: Waking/alerting people with a random offset time added to a pre-programmed wake-up/alert time, the improved method and apparatus disclosed in the present invention maximizes time confusion and uncertainty to provide an extra urgency to get up and/or get ready. In an embodiment, an alarm clock chooses a random time offset of D minutes without the user's knowledge. The alarm sounds D minutes before the preset wake-up time while displaying the current time plus D minutes. Thus, even though a user realizes that the alarm has sounded earlier than the preset time, he does not know exactly how many minutes earlier. Alternatively, the alarm could sound D minutes after the preset wake-up time. Again, the user does not know how much offset has been inserted by the clock. This uncertainty forces the user to assume the worst-case and get up quickly.

Abstract: Automatic delivery and placement of safety cones from a moving vehicle is provided. The key idea is that there is a receptacle that holds a plurality of safety cones. The receptacle is attached to the vehicle. A releasing means which is attached to the receptacle is controlled and advances the safety cones in an automatic and controlled fashion, one-by-one, to different locations on a road, street, freeway, intersection, or the like. The advantage is that it automatically takes care of the placement of a plurality of safety cones. There would no longer be a need for a person to manually deliver and place the safety cones. Therefore, the present invention provides for increased safety since it decreases or even eliminates the number of fatal or non-fatal accidents as well as chronic injuries of road-workers that are involved in placing safety cones.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards air-bearing sliders that are used in disk drives. The invention involves pitching a slider so that the leading portion of the slider is closer to the disk than the trailing portion of the slider. The negative pitch reduces the sensitivity of the slider to ambient air pressure, radial position, and to data accessing over the disk. When used in combination with a reverse-flow disk drive, negatively pitched sliders facilitate the routing of traces to the head.

Abstract: The instant invention concerns optical fibers that have complex-valued Vc-parameters due to gain g established by active dopants that are doped into the fiber core in accordance with a doping profile. In particular, the doping levels are very high, such that the gain g makes a sufficiently large contribution to an imaginary part of the complex-valued Vc-parameter to define at least one gain-guided mode, e.g., the fundamental mode or several low-order modes of radiation in the optical fiber. The fiber does not require any index-guiding effects to a single mode or just a few of the lowest-order modes in large cross-section cores having diameters in the range from 50 &mgr;m to 500 &mgr;m in diameter and yield kilowatt level output power. The fiber may, in addition to gain-guiding, take advantage of a refractive index profile to provide for index-guiding or index-antiguiding effects in addition to gain-guiding.

Abstract: At least one modified strain region having a damage depth between 0.1 and 2 microns in a disk drive slider is created by implantation with ions, electrons or neutral atoms. The modified strain region induces a deformation of the disk drive slider. The nature and extent of this deformation is determined by the interaction between the slider and the modified strain region.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive (MR) sensor can be shaped using ion beam irradiation and/or implantation through a mask introduced between a MR structure and an ion source. The mask covers selected portions of the MR structure to define the track width of the sensor. Ion irradiation and/or implantation reduces the magnetoresistance of the unmasked portions while leaving the masked portion substantially unaltered. The mask can be a photoresist mask, an electron beam resist mask, or a stencil mask. Alternatively the mask may be part of a projection ion beam system. Track width resolution is determined at the mask production step. The edges of the sensor can be defined by a highly collimated ion beam producing an extremely straight transition edge, which reduces sensor noise and improves sensor track width control. Improved hard bias layers that directly abut the sensor may be used to achieve a suitable stability. A variety of longitudinal bias schemes are compatible with ion beam patterning.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards a suspension for use with heads that are positioned upstream of the actuator arm in a disk drive. The suspension includes a motion limiter to limit displacement both away from the load beam and towards the flexure proximal end. The suspension also includes traces with connections located on the proximal end of the gimbaled region of the flexure for making electrical contact with a head on a slider.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards a channel power monitor for monitoring channel power levels for each of N signal channels. The value of each channel power level is designated as p(&lgr;i), where &lgr;i is a channel parameter that characterizes each channel. An embodiment of the invention includes a variable channel attenuator having M attenuation profiles where M≧N, and where a k-th attenuation profile is characterized as a function of the channel parameter &lgr;i by Ak(&lgr;i). This embodiment also includes a detector for measuring a k-th integrated attenuated power level, the value of which is represented by Pk. An analysis unit receives all of the values Pk of the integrated attenuated power levels and thereupon derives the values p(&lgr;i) of the channel power levels by solving a set of linear equations.

Abstract: The present invention provides a surgical probe having a tip for use in liquid media, wherein the tip has a concave body portion and a distal portion. The concave body portion of the tip is positioned immediately adjacent the distal portion such that the liquid jet resulting from the collapse of the cavitation bubble can be substantially reduced. Also disclosed is a surgical probe having a tip and an obstacle for use in liquid media, wherein the tip has a body portion and a distal portion. The obstacle is mounted on the outside of the probe such that the liquid jet resulting from the collapse of the cavitation bubble can be substantially reduced. The obstacle can also be a pick positioned on one side of the probe and in front of the probe.

Abstract: A method for tuning nonlinear optical frequency converters including devices such as optical parametric amplifiers and optical parametric oscillators through degeneracy. The nonlinear conversion process is driven by a pump beam at an original pump wavelength and the tuning is accomplished by setting a passband around a first wavelength generated by the optical frequency converter and thereby generating a passband image around a second wavelength. Once the passband and passband image are within a critical range the original pump wavelength is adjusted to an adjusted pump wavelength and tuning continues by moving the passband which the adjusted pump wavelength is either held constant or further adjusted. In particular, the passband can now be moved through the resonant wavelength which corresponds to a point of degeneracy at the original pump wavelength.

Abstract: A slider of a magnetic hard disk drive has one or more electric lapping guides in immediate proximity to the read/write stack of the slider. The lapping guides remain part of the slider during its operation. In the preferred embodiment, two essentially identical lapping guides are symmetrically placed on a slider back. One write head terminal is utilized to conductively access the two lapping guides on one side such that only one additional terminal has to be placed on the slider back together with corresponding leads. The placement of lapping guides on the slider back face provides for an economic lapping of individual sliders with increased precision and reliability regardless of any lapping plane skew.

Abstract: A quantum-dot photon turnstile device is capable of producing a stream of regulated and directed single pairs of photons with opposite circular polarizations. This device operates by injecting pairs of electrons and holes, alternately, into a single quantum dot, where they combine to form photons. The device will efficiently and reliably produce a directed beam of such photons at regular time intervals. It will be able to operate at high frequency and at high temperature. Such a stream of regulated photon pairs will be useful in quantum cryptography, quantum computing, low-power optical communications, as a light standard, and in many other areas of technology and fundamental science.

Abstract: For a number of users is a system provided to create, edit, replay and view documents of free hand drawn sketches. The system captures the creation process together with verbal and/or visual information provided by each user and automatically correlates them for a later synchronized replay. The system provides a number of tools and features, mainly to: combine the sketching activity with existing images, to selectively retrieve media information correlated to individual sketch entities and to quasi simultaneously collaborate at a common document. The system architecture can by adjusted to various parameters in the communication infrastructure. The system may be implemented in any software program, a web based service, a web browser, an operating system for computers and/or communication devices.

Abstract: An exchange-coupled magnetic structure of a cobalt-ferrite layer adjacent a magnetic metal layer is used in magnetorestive sensors, such as spin valves or tunnel junction valves. The exchange-coupled magnetic structure is used in a pinning structure pinning the magnetization of a ferromagnetic pinned layer, or in an AP pinned layer. A low coercivity ferrite may be used in an AP free layer. Cobalt-ferrite layers may be formed by co-sputtering of Co and Fe in an oxygen/argon gas mixture, or by sputtering of a CoFe2 composition target in an oxygen/argon gas mixture. Alternatively, the cobalt-ferrite layer may be formed by evaporation of Co and Fe from an alloy source or separate sources along with a flux of oxygen atoms from a RF oxygen atom beam source. Magnetoresistive sensors including cobalt-ferrite layers have small read gaps and produce large signals with high efficiency.