Abstract: A contact region for a trench in a semiconductor device and a method for electrically contacting the conductive material in a trench that is too narrow for conventional electrical contacts may include a contact region in which the trench is divided into two or more trench sections, each section having the same narrow width as the undivided trench. The two or more trench sections are separated by one or more islands that are isolated from the semiconductor device. An aperture through the material above the contact region provides access for electrically contacting the conductive material in the trench sections.

Abstract: A sign bit integrator and method for generating a signal to correct an offset in a signal processing system that can distort the output from the system. A charge pulse is generated when the sign of a input signal is sampled in order to provide an offset correction signal with a polarity opposite that of offsets in the system. The charge pulse is provided to a pair of transistors whose size ratio sets the magnitude of the charge pulse. The polarity of the charge pulse is set responsive to a sign bit in the input signal. An integrator capacitor provides the offset correction signal to the signal processing system. A third transistor may be switchably substituted for one of the pair of transistors to change the ratio of sizes and thus change the magnitude of the charge pulse to thereby change the speed with which the offset correction is made. The sign bit integrator and method may be used to correct distortion in a voice signal in a telephone system.

Abstract: A digital down converter with a programmable mixing down frequency and a programmable extraction bandwidth uses a ROM based sin/cos generator plus a programmable high decimation filter followed by a gain compensating scaling multiplier and a fixed FIR filter. Output format options are also programmable, and programming commands are serially loaded into registers. Various components may be isolated for efficient testing and also subsystem operation.

Abstract: A method of providing a semiconductor device with an inorganic electrically insulative layer, the device having exposed semiconductor surfaces and electrically conductive metal end terminations, in which the device is reacted with phosphoric acid to form a phosphate on the exposed surfaces of the semiconductor but not on the metal end terminations, and in which the device is thereafter barrel plated in a conventional electrical barrel plating process and the plating is provided only on the end terminations because the phosphate is not electrically conductive.

Abstract: A transconductance amplifier suitable for the input stage of a comparator with the capability of amplifying input signal with common mode voltage components in a range including the entirety of its operating voltage. Operation at one voltage extreme is accomplished by use of a long tailed pair connection of a pair of bulk modulated FETs with gates at the input terminals of the amplifier. Operation at the other voltage extreme is accomplished by the use of a pair of FETs in a source follower mode to drive common gate transistors of opposite polarity, the gates of the FETs also being connected to the input terminals of the amplifier. A common high impedance load for the comparator is connected to current mirrors of the drains of both pairs of FETs in the amplifier. The circuit may be implemented with bipolar transistors and additional amplification provided. Methods of comparing voltages are also disclosed.

Abstract: A semiconductor current follower and method using a copy of the input current from a current mirror to insure that the input impedance remains a virtual ground for both unidirectional and bidirectional signals.

Abstract: A system and method for storing image data in a location remote from a display device which uses the data. The system uses plural reduced resolution image data sets and geographical coordination between the image being viewed and the data sets to substantially reduce the bandwidth required to transmit the image data and to shorten the time needed for transmission. Automatic transmission of data needed may be utilized.

Abstract: An optical device and method for sensing a plurality of ambient conditions (e.g., temperature and pressure) may include transmission of an optical flux through a fiber optic cable to a section of the cable that is placed where the ambient conditions are to be sensed. The section of cable includes a plurality of serially aligned sensors for reflecting the optical flux back through the cable, each of the sensors having semi-reflective surfaces at the two ends thereof for partially reflecting the optical flux. The distance between the two ends of each sensor varies primarily as a function of a different one of the ambient conditions. The optical flux is partially transmitted and partially reflected at each of the ends of the sensors and the optical flux reflected back through the cable includes an interference pattern that is a function of each sensor's end-to-end distance. A detector evaluates the interference pattern to determine the ambient conditions.

Abstract: Methods of increasing the number of possible network configurations available during the manufacture of an integrated circuit hybrid balance network containing a fixed number of selectable network configurations in the manufactured network by including a network element selection layer programmable during the manufacturing process. The programming may be accomplished using ROM matrices programmed during or subsequent to the manufacturing process, or alternatively may be accomplished by the programming of the metal masks interconnecting the semiconductor portions of the IC without the necessity for changing the semiconductor masks.

Abstract: A device and method for correcting an amplitude slope in the frequency domain of an input signal. An amplitude slope is detected in parallel feedback loops that connect the combined output of two parallel out-of-band notch filters through a slope detection circuit to inputs of each of the two notch filters. Each feedback loop detects the energy at one of the high and low frequencies that define the frequency domain of the input signal, and provides a voltage indicative of the energy back to the notch filters to vary the Q of the notch filters, thereby correcting the amplitude slope. The energy is detected in each feedback loop by mixing the input signal with one of the high and low frequencies that define the frequency domain of the input signal, and filtering out all but the DC voltage indicative of the energy at the one frequency. The DC voltage changes the resistance of an element in the notch filters to vary Q.

Abstract: A circuit and method for reducing the output impedance and the common mode gain in a differential transimpedance amplifier sets the input impedance for the differential transimpedance amplifier, giving it one value for differential inputs and another value for common mode inputs. The circuit and method sets the effective input impedance for the amplifier equal to the negative of amplifier's feedback resistor impedance for differential inputs, and to low, positive value for common mode inputs.

Abstract: A method and multicoupler for a receiver at a base station in a cellular/PCS radio communication system includes a cooled container that is mounted on an antenna tower at the base station. The container is mounted on the antenna tower adjacent an antenna and contains thereinside a preselector filter, a highly linear amplifier, and a directional coupler that are cooled to a temperature less than 175.degree. K. and greater than 100.degree. K. A power splitter is connected between the output from the container and the radio system receiver, and is located at a ground station near the base of the antenna tower. Cooling the components inside the container, particularly the amplifier, to a temperature of about 150.degree. K. reduces the noise from the multicoupler so that base station range is extended, building penetration is improved, and subscriber transmit power may be reduced.

Abstract: A method of forming a capacitor in a bonded wafer using the same process steps used to form integrated circuit devices in the bonded wafer. The bonded wafer may comprise a device wafer and a handle wafer, each of which forms a capacitor plate, bonded together with a dielectric therebetween. The device wafer may be divided into one or more insulated islands for the formation of integrated circuit devices, and a dummy island external of the insulated islands. One or more capacitor plates may be formed from the dummy island in the device wafer. The device wafer may include buried layers and an isolation trench along an outer edge separating the semiconductor material of the die from the wafer. The wafer may also be formed by the ZMR and SIMOX processes. In addition, other circuit structures such as thin film resistors may be formed on or above the upper insulator.

Abstract: A dielectrically isolated island architecture in which the island is contoured inwardly to form one or more projections that penetrate a well separating two regions in the island to assure that the two regions will be electrically isolated without additional processing steps.

Abstract: A monolithic semiconductor power switching device and a method of separating plural thyristor based active areas therein includes reverse conducting diode regions between the active areas. The reverse conducting diode regions influence current flow at the edges of the operable ones of the active areas so that current from an operable one of the active areas does not flow into and turn on an inoperable one of the active areas. The reverse conducting diode regions have a width so that substantially all of the carriers of the current from an operable one of the active areas recombine before reaching an adjacent active area.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate forming the bottom portion of a package of the device and a ceramic plate forming the upper or lid portion of the device. The substrate includes a layer of metal on its upper surface along the substrate outer edge and spaced apart from electrodes on the substrate upper surface. The ceramic plate includes a copper foil on its lower surface along the outer edge thereof which overlaps and is bonded to the substrate metal layer. The ceramic plate has apertures therethrough which are sealed by copper foils on the inside of the package, the foils being bonded to respective ones of the substrate electrodes. A method of assembly comprises forming an array of integrally connected lids and an army of integrally connected substrates, each of the arrays including the aforementioned layers and foils, bonding the arrays together to form an array of devices, and dicing the bonded together arrays to provide individual devices.

Abstract: Integrated circuit memory with bitlines which cross each other in multiple place for symmetric capacitives coupling. Also read only memory with differential sense amplifier with an input to each half array of cells. Bits are stored complementarily in the two halves.

Abstract: With a method of controlled regeneration of a diesel soot filter of a diesel engine the diesel soot filter is divided into a plurality of sections which are connected in parallel in the exhaust gas tract and into at least one of which the influx of exhaust gas is blocked in response to the exhaust gas temperatures measured downstream of the diesel soot filter. When the maximum admissible exhaust gas temperature downstream of the diesel soot filter is exceeded this section, consequently, is shut off in part or even completely from the exhaust gas stream so that the mass flow rate through the corresponding filter section is reduced or even cut off, while the mass flow rate through the remaining sections is increased in a way so as to again control the regeneration or even discontinue it.

Abstract: The efficiency of fuel combustion is improved by adding to the fuel an additive that includes tin, antimony, lead and mercury. The additive may include by weight 60-80% tin, 15-30% antimony, 2-7% lead and 3-12% mercury.

Abstract: A method and mount for a high frequency IC that provides a low inductance path for a high frequency current from the IC to the exterior of a package for the IC and the mount. An electrically and thermally conductive metal base for mounting the IC on an upper surface thereof has a lower surface exposed at the exterior of the package that otherwise encloses the base and the IC. The base also has a plurality of solid or hollow columns for increasing a surface area of the mount, thereby decreasing the inductance to a high frequency current in the path between the IC and the lower surface of the base. Each column is electrically connected to a separate ground terminal on the IC. The columns may have narrow necks connecting them to the base to limit common mode inductance between columns, or may be separated from the base to eliminate common mode inductance.