Abstract: A semiconductor high-voltage device comprising a voltage sustaining layer between a n+-region and a p+-region is provided, which is a uniformly doped n(or p)-layer containing a plurality of floating p(or n)-islands. The effect of the floating islands is to absorb a large part of the electric flux when the layer is fully depleted under a high reverse bias voltage so as the peak field is not increased when the doping concentration of voltage sustaining layer is increased. Therefore, the thickness and the specific on-resistance of the voltage sustaining layer for a given breakdown voltage can be much lower than those of a conventional voltage sustaining layer with the same breakdown voltage. By using the voltage sustaining layer of this invention, various high voltage devices can be made with better relation between specific on-resistance and breakdown voltage.

Abstract: An N type buried layer is formed, in one embodiment, by a non selective implant on the surface of a wafer and later diffusion. Subsequently, the wafer is masked and a selective P type buried layer is formed by implant and diffusion. The coefficient of diffusion of the P type buried layer dopant is greater than the N type buried layer dopant so that connections can be made to the P type buried layer by P wells which have a lower dopant concentration than the N buried layer.

Abstract: An EPROM structure includes a NMOS transistor integrated with a capacitor. The terminal names of the NMOS transistor follow the conventional nomenclature: drain, source, body and gate. The gate of the NMOS transistor is connected directly and exclusively to one of the capacitor plates. In this configuration, the gate is now referred to as the “floating gate”. The remaining side of the capacitor is referred to as the “control gate”.

Abstract: There is disclosed a timepiece (1) powered by an electric power source formed by a battery (P) including a case (2, 21, 22), a battery compartment (7) formed by a housing (6) arranged inside said case to accommodate the battery, and means for closing the housing including a removable cover (8) able to be mechanically locked onto the case. The timepiece further includes connecting means (10, 11), arranged partly in said housing, for allowing electric access to electric or electronic components of the timepiece housed within the case. These connecting means include a plurality of connection terminals (10) arranged in the housing at the periphery of the battery, this housing being arranged so that the connection terminals are accessible from outside the case after the removal of the removable cover, without requiring the battery to be removed from its housing.

Abstract: The invention concerns electronic chronograph watches which include a central hour hand (3), a central minute hand (4) and a small off-central second hand (6) for permanently indicating the current time, chronograph hands (7, 8, 9) for indicating a measured time when the watch is operating in chronograph mode, drive units for driving said hands and generator means responding to manual control means (P1, P2, 10) to apply control pulses to said drive units. According to the invention, the watch also includes a central second hand (5) driven by its own drive unit and the generator means include means for selectively applying the control pulses to this drive unit, so that the central second hand indicates the seconds of the current time, in phase with the small off-center second hand (6), when the watch is operating normally and the measured seconds when the watch is operating in chronograph mode.

Abstract: An EPROM structure includes a NMOS transistor integrated with a capacitor. The terminal names of the NMOS transistor follow the conventional nomenclature: drain, source, body and gate. The gate of the NMOS transistor is connected directly and exclusively to one of the capacitor plates. In this configuration, the gate is now referred to as the “floating gate”. The remaining side of the capacitor is referred to as the “control gate”.

Abstract: There is disclosed an improved sub-aqua device suitable for towing a person through the water. Specifically there is disclosed a sub-aqua device including: a support member; a pair of manoeuvring planes for manoeuvring the device, each defining an elevation plane; and a means for controlling each manoeuvring plane including a handle, each handle extending in a plane coincident with the respective elevation plane.

Abstract: A technique for supplying drive voltage to the gate of a high-side depletion-mode N-channel MOS-device for high-side switches or any circuit with a depletion-mode N-channel MOS-device with its source at a voltage above local ground.

Abstract: The present invention concerns the field of microstructures and in particular microstructures made via CMOS technology on semiconductor substrates intended to undergo micro-machining by wet chemical etching, in particular by a KOH etchant. According to the present invention, protection against the KOH reactive agent is provided to such a structure by the deposition of a metal film (40, 41, 43) including at least on external gold layer (43) on the surface of the structure. This metal film (40, 41, 43) advantageously allows the use of mechanical protective equipment to be omitted and thus allows the wafers to be processed in batches. The present invention also proves perfectly compatible with a standard gold bumping process.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a low frequency oscillator device including a quartz resonator (1) and an electronic maintenance circuit for maintaining the vibrations of said quartz resonator. According to the present invention, the quartz resonator is arranged to vibrate according to a torsional mode and therefore has a single cutting angle defined by a rotation at a determined angle (&thgr;) about the crystallographic axis X of the quartz crystal. This resonator includes in particular at least one undesired fundamental flexural vibrating mode at a first frequency and a desired fundamental torsional vibrating mode at a second frequency higher than said first frequency. Moreover, the electronic maintenance circuit is an inverter circuit (2) whose transconductance value (gm) is determined such that said device cannot oscillate according to the undesired fundamental flexural vibrating mode but according to the desired fundamental torsional vibrating mode of said resonator.

Abstract: A security system has a base unit that includes a wireless telephone transmitter and receiver and a computer unit. The computer unit has a memory for storing an emergency phone number and an outgoing message. The security system is activated by a voice command such as “fire”, “help” or “police”. When the voice command is detected, the computer unit will activate on audible alarm and cause the wireless telephone transmitter and receiver to connect to the location callable by the emergency phone number and to transmit the outgoing message.

Abstract: A semiconductor device is disclosed and includes a drain region of a first conductivity type, having a first major surface. Diffused into the drain region is a body region of a second conductivity type. A source region is diffused in the body region and it has a general polygonal shape when viewed at the first major surface with two notches directed towards the center of the source region from opposite sides. The body region is accessible through the notches. An oxide layer covers the source and body regions except for a contact opening position over the source region between the two notches exposing only that portion of the source region that is between the two notches and at least a portion of the accessible body region in each of the two notches to facilitate a source contact.

Abstract: An EPROM structure includes a NMOS transistor integrated with a capacitor. The terminal names of the NMOS transistor follow the conventional nomenclature: drain, source, body and gate. The gate of the NMOS transistor is connected directly and exclusively to one of the capacitor plates. In this configuration, the gate is now referred to as the “floating gate”. The remaining side of the capacitor is referred to as the “control gate”.

Abstract: Peripheral lighting device for the scale of a dial (11) of an apparatus of small dimensions including a case (1) in which are housed a movement (14) driving at least one hand (12a, 12b, 12c) with respect to the scale, a power source (6) and an electronic circuit (15) able to supply a pulsed voltage, said case being closed by crystal (4) extended on the dial side by an annular extension forming a flange (17), characterized in that a circular recess (19) is provided inside the base (18) of the flange (17) to accommodate on the one hand, an electroluminescent ring (20) formed of a strip having a border (21) extending beyond the base and a connecting lug (22), and on the other hand a ring (30) made of translucent plastic material forced into the annular recess (19) to hold the electroluminescent ring (20) at the bottom thereof.

Abstract: Provided is transmission of situational location dependent information from a server data processing system to a receiving data processing system. The server data processing system communicates with the receiving data processing system in a manner by pushing content when appropriate. A candidate delivery event associated with a current positional attribute of the receiving data processing system is recognized and a situational location of the remote data processing system is determined. The candidate delivery event may be a location and/or direction change, device state change, or movement exceeding a movement tolerance. The situational location of the remote data processing system may be its location, direction, location and direction, proximity to a location, state change, or location and/or direction relative to a previous location and/or direction, or combinations thereof.

Abstract: Control button having a metal body (10) provided along its axis with a blind hole (16) closed by a cap (18) and extended by a wall (14) of revolution. The body (10) includes a groove (20) made in the outer surface of the wall (14) and channels (26) connecting said surface to the inside of the blind hole (16). The button further includes a fitting (12) made of synthetic material, formed of a ring (28) closing the groove and extended radially by raised portions (34) as far as the openings of the channels (26) in the wall (14) of a radial structure with several branches (30) closing the channels (26), and a core (32) connecting the branches (30) to secure between them the different parts (28, 30, 32, 34) of the fitting (12).