Abstract: A method of patterning magnetic material so as to achieve desired magnetic properties includes providing a metallic substrate having an array of raised islands spaced apart by depressed regions in a pattern to define geometries of magnetic devices. In one embodiment, heating the metallic substrate yields magnetic films that possess improved properties with respect to coercive force, anisotrophy field, permeability, and saturation magnetization of both magnetically hard and magnetically soft materials. In another embodiment, a release layer having a low adhesion with respect to attachment to the metallic substrate or a non-metallic substrate is deposited prior to formation of multilayer stacks, thereby reducing the risk of splitting such a stack. In yet another embodiment, the magnetic devices are formed in the depressed regions, rather than on the raised islands.

Abstract: Forming micro-probe tips for an atomic force microscope, a scanning tunneling microscope, a beam electron emission microscope, or for field emission, by first thinning a tip of a first material, such as silicon. The tips are then reacted with a second material, such as atoms from an organic or ammonia vapor, at a temperature of about 1000.degree. C..+-.200.degree. C. and vacuum conditions for several minutes. Vapors such as methane, propane or acetylene will be converted to SiC or WC while ammonia will be converted to Si.sub.3 N.sub.4. The converted material will have different physical, chemical and electrical properties. For example, a SiC tip will be superhard, approaching diamond in hardness. Electrically conductive tips are suitable for field emission.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser having a light amplifying diode heterostructure with a flared gain region in an external resonant cavity. The flared gain region has a narrow aperture end which may be coupled to a single mode waveguide and a wide output end. A light emitting surface of the heterostructure proximate to the wide end of the flared gain region is partially reflective and combines with an external reflector to form a resonant cavity that is effectively unstable. The intracavity light-emitting surface proximate to the narrow aperture end is antireflection coated. The external reflector may be a planar mirror or a grating reflector. A lens or an optical fiber may couple the aperture end of the flared gain region to the external reflector. Frequency-selective feedback is provided by orienting the grating reflector or providing a prism in the cavity in front of the external planar mirror. Other filtering elements may also be placed in the external cavity.

Abstract: A safety alertness monitoring system for a vehicle which requires the operator to match a randomly generated alpha-numeric character pattern, consisting of a set of characters, presented at random intervals during normal operation of the vehicle. Failure to input the displayed characters via keyboard leads to an audible alarm. If the operator fails to respond to the audible alarm or an unacceptable number of consecutive alarms occur, the vehicle throttle is disabled and the braking system engaged. The system receives input from the vehicle speedometer and is capable of bringing the vehicle to a smooth controlled stop. The system also receives input from sensors that indicate when the vehicle is being remotely operated. The system is disabled when the vehicle is remotely operated.

Abstract: Sense amplifier performance is improved in a sense amplifier circuit connected to a semiconductor memory. A current mirror circuit is connected to a data node on the side of a pass transistor adjacent to core memory. The other side of the current mirror circuit is connected to modify the current provided from a memory reference cell. This provides a lubricating current to the pass transistor to ensure that it does not shut down in the absence of current flow from a core memory cell. Sense amplifier speed is improved by a higher transconductance level in the pass transistors. Speed is improved by reducing sense node capacitance through buffer circuitry. Core performance is enhanced by interspersed reference columns within the core at distributed locations.

Abstract: A flexible shape-retaining light guide device for illuminating fixed objects from a remote fixed light source. The light guide combines a bundle of flexible optical fibers with a shape-retention member. The fiber bundle and shape-retention member are surrounded by a flexible jacket of heat shrink material. In one embodiment, the fibers are connected to the shape-retention member only at the output end of the light guide by an annular sleeve. The input end of the light guide is unfinished to accommodate movement of the guide's components relative to one another as the guide is positioned. Once positioned the input end of the light guide is cut to length and secured near the light source. In an alternate embodiment, a removable optically transparent end cap frictionally engages the outer surface of the jacket at each end of the device to retain the fibers and keep out contaminants. Once positioned, the device is cut to length and the new end is resealed with the removed end cap.

Abstract: A monolithic multi-wavelength laser diode array having a composite active region of at least two dissimilar quantum well layers that are partially mixed in at least one of their constituent atomic species in at least one area of the active region. Different areas of the active region are characterized by different emission wavelengths determined by the degree of intermixing. An impurity free interdiffusion, such as vacancy enhanced interdiffusion, is used to provide the intermixing. Each area may have one or more waveguides and distributed Bragg reflector gratings tuned to the emission wavelength of the corresponding area of the active region. Each area or waveguide may also be separately pumped with an individually addressable current injection electrode. The laser output may be coupled into a ferroelectric frequency doubler integrally formed on the array substrate.

Abstract: A method is provided for testing a non-programmable non-volatile memory which does not require the writing or erasing of any cells and permits the testing of all normal memory cells. Testing occurs from the device I/O pins and is useful in cases where EPROM memory cells have been bulk erased and placed within an ultraviolet-opaque package. The non-volatile memory is of the type having memory banks of rows and columns. Each bank must have address decoders and means for changing addresses between banks. A separate auxiliary cell or row of cells in a state different from the non-programmed state is provided. An address is supplied for the auxiliary cells and then for the normal cells and the interval between addressing the normal cells and the appearance of an output signal is measured and compared with a predetermined fixed limit. If the limit is exceeded, the address is identified as that of a weak cell whose speed does not meet product specifications.

Abstract: A package to display fabric items, such as scarves and handkerchiefs, or cards and note paper in combination with fabric items. The package is a folder that has two overlapping pockets with diagonally oriented openings which are in oblique facing relation to one another. The area bounded by the pockets defines a V-shaped bordered portion. The package is assembled by inserting the fabric item, or card and note paper in combination therewith, into both of the pockets wherein the fabric item is displayed within the V-shaped bordered portion. The front surface has at least one pocket with an aperture, and one end of the fabric item is fed therethrough. The folder is assembled from a single stiff paper blank containing a number of score lines along which it is folded. The assembled folder shape is maintained by interlocking panels thereby abrogating the use of adhesives.

Abstract: An amplifier circuit having two identical inverting folded-cascode amplifier stages coupled together through a coupling resistor at the positive terminals of the respective stages. Each stage includes an input gain transistor whose gate forms the negative input terminal of the amplifier stage coupled to receive an input signal through an input resistor, whose source forms the positive input terminal of the amplifier stage, and whose drain is connected to the source of a level-shifting cascode transistor. Both transistors are supplied current from a constant current source also connected to the source of the level-shifting transistor. The drain of the level-shifting transistor forms an output terminal of the amplifier stage. Each stage feeds its amplifier output negatively to the positive input of the other stage, while at the same time feeding its distortion and noise contribution positively, via input gain transistor conduction, to the other stage.

Abstract: An apparatus for sequentially releasing computer disks from a stack includes a hopper and a pusher member for sliding a lowermost disk from beneath the stack. A next lowermost disk is held at an angle to the lowermost disk to limit contact of the disks to rearward disk edges, so that sliding contact is minimized. The front edge of the next lowermost disk is supported by a sloped surface to achieve the desired angle and to allow gravitational feed of the disks as the pusher plate is unloaded by a forward disk delivery and a rearward return. At the rearward end of the next lowest disk, an inwardly sloped surface provides space for the disk to slide down the outwardly sloped surface into the loaded position. Preferably, the hopper is one of a number of hoppers used in collating computer disks.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for testing and connecting integrated circuit chips to external packaging and circuitry. A plurality of electrically conductive leads are formed on an electrically insulative substrate by tape automated bonding methods. The leads extend from peripherally disposed test terminals to centrally disposed interconnect pads and are aligned therebetween with bond pads that are disposed near a perimeter of a face of a chip. The leads are connected to the bond pads and are encapsulated with a cement, and the substrate is adhered to the chip face. Electronic characteristics of the chip are tested by channeling electrical signals via the test terminals. The leads are then severed closely peripheral to the bond pads, disconnecting the test terminals from the chip. The chips that pass the testing are connected via the interconnect pads, which may be arranged in a pad grid array, to matching terminals in a package.

Abstract: A micromachined valve and valve array having one or more pores which are electrochemically opened and closed by dissolving and redepositing a barrier layer across a tiny opening or pore in substrate. The pore is spanned by two electrodes which apply a voltage to an electrolytic barrier layer material which dissolves in an electrolyte. Each open pore has a distinct flow rate related to its minimal cross-sectional area which together can form a binary sized array with each subsequent member in the array having a flow rate twice as large as the preceding member in the array. Any integral multiple of the smallest flow rate may be achieved by opening an appropriate combination of the pores with addressing logic. In a preferred embodiment, each bit in a binary representation of the desired flow rate acts as a switch for a pore having a flow rate corresponding to the bit position.

Abstract: A method of locating particle and defect features on a periodically patterned surface uses multiple threshold intensity levels to identify features in the data stream produced by scanning the surface with a light beam and detecting the light scattered from the surface. High thresholds are assigned to regions of the surface with high background scatter, while low thresholds are assigned to regions of the surface with low background scatter. The scattered light is detected with a wide dynamic range detector producing high resolution 12-bit pixel data capable of resolving the smallest particles and defects of interest in low scatter regions, while avoiding saturation in high scatter regions. Periodic pattern features are removed from the data by mapping features from a plurality of periodically repeating die on the surface to a single die map and looking for overlapping features. Unique, nonoverlapping features are determined to correspond to particles and defects.

Abstract: A method for making submicron dielectric windows for electron tunneling between a floating gate and substrate in a semiconductor EEPROM device. A mask edge overlying an oxide layer on a substrate is undercut a small distance, the area surrounding that small distance is built up with oxide, then a thin layer of oxide is formed in the undercut distance to serve as a tunneling window.

Abstract: A process of programming a programmable logic device (PLD) to carry out a specified logic function. The PLD contains three levels of logic implemented as a plurality of functional blocks, each with AND and OR planes, and a programmable interconnect matrix or logic expander carrying out AND logic. After providing such a PLD with specified size constraints and after specifying a logic function, the function is split or factored into subfunctions or factors. A Boolean factorization procedure chooses factors by replacing pairs of product terms in the first factor with their supercube and minimizing the number input terms and product terms required. Subfunctions or factors which are too large can be simplified by combining pairs of inputs in the interconnect matrix. The product terms of a subfunction or factor can be ordered according to the number of input terms they have and assigned to the functional blocks one at a time.

Abstract: A coherent light source, such as a laser oscillator and a monolithic MOPA device, and a broad area light amplifying device, all characterized by having a leaky waveguide beam expander coupled thereto for expanding a single mode beam into a wide light beam in a coherent manner. The beam expander comprises an elongated antiguide core of a first refractive index and a radiated-wave receiving region of a higher refractive index to receive lightwaves laterally radiated from the antiguide core. This beam expander can be located at an output end of a single mode laser oscillator to receive and expand the beam, at an input end of a broad area optical power amplifier to allow the amplifier to accept a narrow input beam, or between the laser oscillator and power amplifier in a MOPA device. The beam expander elements can also be located partially or entirely within the resonant optical cavity of a laser oscillator.

Abstract: Using storage phosphor recording media, two exposures are made of a sample containing two target substances tagged with different radiative emitters, for example 32-P and 35-S. The first exposure, image 1, is of the sample directly on the phosphor screen. The second exposure, image 2, is made with the appropriate absorption material between the sample and screen. Both images are captured. By using simultaneous equations isotope contributions of each label can be determined. Quantitative assessment of the contributions of the isotopes, and hence the target substances, are made by calculating isotope efficiencies both with and without the absorption filter.

Abstract: A power amplifier circuit having a cascode transistor configuration with at least one gain transistor biased for Class-A or Class-AB operation and at least one cascode transistor, and having at least one isolated high impedance current source connected across the gain transistor(s) to provide an alternate path for bias current other than through the cascode transistor(s). In a complementary symmetry embodiment of the amplifier, a bias voltage across the gates of the complementary gain transistors ensures Class-A (or -AB) operation, while either a single current source connected across both gain transistors or a pair of current sources, each connected across one gain transistor, provides the alternate bias current path. In a single-ended embodiment of the amplifier, a current sink to one of the power supply terminals assures forward bias for Class-A (or -AB) operation, and a single current source is connected across the sole gain transistor.

Abstract: A fluid spraying gun having a disk-shaped shield positioned adjacent to a spray of fluid at an adjustable angle. The shield has a sharp edge that can roll on a surface for creating a sharp border between an area exposed to spray and an area concealed from spray. The shield also has a rounded rim on a face distal to the spray for sliding along a surface transverse to the surface the edge rolls on, allowing the formation of a sharp border along a corner between the surfaces or the positioning of the spray a set distance from the transversely oriented wall. A lip rings a face adjacent the spray for catching excess spray prior to the edge, a tip of the lip aligned between an orifice where the spray originates and the edge. The shield is connected to the gun via a shaft which can pivot about an axis near the orifice, such that the tip and the edge remain aligned with the orifice at a variety of angles.