Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Winthrow & Terranova, P.L.L.C
  • Patent number: 8314467
    Abstract: A micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) switch having a thermally tolerant anchor configuration is provided. The MEMS switch includes a substrate onto which first and second conductive pads are formed. A conductive cantilever beam having a first end portion, a middle portion, a second end portion, a top surface, and a bottom surface includes an internal surface that defines an open space through the first end portion. A conductive anchor coupled to the internal surface of the first end portion extends through the open space and is coupled to the first conductive pad such that the bottom surface of the second end portion of the conductive cantilever beam is suspended above the second conductive pad by a predetermined distance. The MEMS switch also includes a conductive actuator plate formed on the substrate at a location beneath the middle portion of the conductive cantilever beam and between the first and second conductive pads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Hale Hammond, Jan Vandemeer
  • Patent number: 8238473
    Abstract: The present invention provides a technique for reducing the peak power of a combined signal that has a first signal of a first modulation type and a second signal of a second modulation type. Based on the combined signal, peak reduction distortion is determined. The peak reduction distortion is configured such that, if applied to the entirety of the combined signal, excessive peaks throughout the combined signal would be reduced. However, instead of applying the entirety of the peak reduction distortion, a selected portion of the peak reduction distortion is applied to a corresponding portion of the combined signal to reduce the peak power of the combined signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
    Inventors: Bradley John Morris, Arthur Thomas Gerald Fuller
  • Patent number: 8216871
    Abstract: Methods of fabrication of a thermoelectric module from thin film thermoelectric material are disclosed. In general, a thin film thermoelectric module is fabricated by first forming an N-type thin film thermoelectric material layer and one or more metallization layers on a substrate. The one or more metallization layers and the N-type thin film thermoelectric material layer are etched to form a number of N-type thermoelectric material legs. A first electrode assembly is then bonded to a first portion of the N-type thermoelectric material legs, and the first electrode assembly including the first portion of the N-type thermoelectric material legs is removed from the substrate. In a similar manner, a second electrode assembly is bonded to a first portion of a number of P-type thermoelectric material legs. The first and second electrode assemblies are then bonded using a flip-chip bonding process to complete the fabrication of the thermoelectric module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma
    Inventor: Patrick John McCann
  • Patent number: 8101709
    Abstract: The present invention involves synthesizing conducting polymer nanofibers by mixing an oxidant solution with a monomer solution, which includes a monomer and an oligomer of the monomer that is used as an initiator. The oxidant solution includes an oxidizing agent, or oxidant, such as ferric chloride to oxidize the monomer, the oligomer, or both, and begin polymerization. By including an initiator in the form of the oligomer, which may have a lower oxidation potential than the monomer, the rate of polymerization is accelerated, resulting in the nanofibrous morphology. Therefore, the conducting polymer nanofibers may be synthesized without the use of surfactants, hard templates, or seeds, resulting in a simplified and accelerated polymerization process, which enhances homogenous nucleation of the conducting polymer nanofibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Richard B. Kaner, Koo Shin, Henry Hiep D. Tran
  • Patent number: 8069542
    Abstract: The present invention provides an interleaved IDT that is connected to and overlaps adjacent IDTs. In particular, the interleaved IDT may be connected to both an input IDT and an output IDT via corresponding bus bars. The first bus bar of the interleaved IDT is connected to the bus bar of the input IDT, and the other bus bar of the interleaved IDT is connected to a bus bar of the output IDT. The interleaved IDT is coupled electrically to the respective input and output ports of the overall surface acoustic wave architecture. As such, the bus bars of the respective input and output IDTs are effectively extended, such that the adjacent edges of the respective input and output IDTs partially overlap one another in an interdigitated fashion at the interleaved IDT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Aleh Loseu, Jayanti Jaganatha Rao
  • Patent number: 8005448
    Abstract: The present invention is an RF duplex filter that is used to remove transmit signals from the receive path of a full duplex transceiver. The RF duplex filter includes a notch filter for blocking signals at a transmit frequency and a bandpass filter for enhancing signals at a receive frequency. The notch filter is formed with series resonant elements and the bandpass filter is formed with parallel resonant elements. One embodiment of the present invention may include tunable resonant elements for tuning the notch filter to a transmit frequency, tuning the bandpass filter to a receive frequency, or both. Calibration circuitry may be included in the full duplex receiver for adjusting the tunable resonant elements. The present invention includes a method for calibrating the tunable resonant elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Kelvin Kai Tuan Yan, Dong-Jun Yang
  • Patent number: 7985611
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) resonator device using the same device layer, dielectric layer, and conductive layer that is used to create other electrical devices in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Tony Ivanov, Julio Costa, Jonathan Hale Hammond
  • Patent number: 7939866
    Abstract: A transistor includes a first electrode on a substrate, wherein the first electrode comprises a bus bar and has first and second first electrode fingers extending therefrom, the fingers being spaced apart to define a channel therebetween. The transistor also includes a second electrode on the substrate having a second electrode finger spaced apart from the first electrode and extending along the channel to define a gate region between the fingers. The gate region comprises a “curved” portion beyond the end of the second electrode finger proximate to the bus bar of the first electrode and a gate electrode extends along the gate region, through the “curved” gate portion. The substrate further comprises an active layer beneath the gate region, characterized in that the active layer extends beyond the end of the second electrode finger beneath the “curved” portion of the gate region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: RFMD (UK) Limited
    Inventor: John Stephen Atherton
  • Patent number: 7884681
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include amplitude-modulated or polar-modulated radio frequency (RF) power amplifier circuitry, in which an envelope power supply input to an RF power amplifier is powered by a pre-distorted amplitude modulation (AM) power supply. The pre-distorted AM power supply receives an AM signal, which is then pre-distorted and amplified to provide an AM power supply signal to the RF power amplifier. The pre-distortion of the AM signal is used to improve the linearity, the efficiency, or both, of the RF power amplifier. The pre-distortion provides a feed-forward system, which may allow use of a reduced bandwidth pre-distorted AM signal to an AM power supply and a reduced bandwidth AM power supply, which may increase efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Nadim Khlat, Ruediger Bauder, David Reed, Baker P. Scott
  • Patent number: 7879269
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to a method for manufacturing a ferrite powder for use in making PCB ferrite features. The ferrite powder is easily applied and provides a high ferrite-packing factor. The ferrite powder is a mixture of varying sizes of ferrite particles, an epoxy powder, and curing agent powder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Dening, John Bernard Ings, Peters Valdemars Erins
  • Patent number: 7653192
    Abstract: The present invention provides an effective and efficient way to link multimedia sessions involving multimedia clients with a conference call involving telephony devices associated with the multimedia clients. In operation, the telephony system will recognize a call directed to an audio bridge, as well as trigger a message indicating the same. The message includes the telephony device's directory number, which is used to access an address for an associated multimedia client. The address for the multimedia client is sent to a multimedia bridge, which is associated with the audio bridge. The multimedia bridge will use the multimedia client's address to send the multimedia client the address for the multimedia bridge, addresses for other participating multimedia clients, and various types of information bearing on the multimedia aspect of the conference call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventor: Dany Sylvain
  • Patent number: 7646710
    Abstract: The present invention provides a terminal capable of establishing multiple communication sessions with a public network proxy through different access networks. The terminal actively communicates with the public network proxy to control which of the multiple communication paths are active, as well as control the transition from actively using one communication path to using another. The public network proxy facilitates data and voice sessions between the terminal and any number of other communication devices. In one embodiment, the communication sessions are reserved tunneling sessions, and the terminal cooperates with the public network proxy to effectively control how many tunneling sessions are established, how many tunneling sessions are active at any given time, and the transition from one tunneling session to another for active communications. Each of the communication or tunneling sessions may be established over different access networks using different communication technologies and protocols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2010
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventor: Samuel H. Christie, IV
  • Patent number: 7545880
    Abstract: A system is provided for pre-distorting a transmit signal in a mobile terminal prior to amplification by a power amplifier to compensate for AM to AM and AM to PM distortion over an input value range. Pre-distortion circuitry includes both amplitude and phase pre-distortion circuitries. The amplitude pre-distortion circuitry distorts an amplitude component of a polar transmit signal using an amplitude compensation signal that essentially cancels the AM to AM distortion, and the phase pre-distortion circuitry distorts a phase component of the polar transmit signal using a phase compensation signal that essentially cancels the AM to PM distortion. The amplitude and phase compensation signals are generated based on corresponding sets of coefficients selected from a number of sets of coefficients defining polynomials describing compensation signals for each of at least two subsets of the input value range for each of two or more power levels of the power amplifier circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: David Coons, Brian Baxter
  • Patent number: 7536198
    Abstract: Systems and methods for MIMO wireless transmission are provided. At the transmitter, a plurality of encoded packets are modulated, and the symbols are divided between several transmit antennas. The transmitter spreads some of the symbols of each packet using a respective subset of an available Walsh code space. A given transmit antenna then transmits part of each packet spread by the respective subset. In some implementations, this achieves the benefits of the PARC system, and at the same time achieves part of the benefits of the STTD system. Advantageously, only a single reverse link control channel is required if adaptive coding and modulation is to be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Jianming Wu, Wen Tong, Mo-Han Fong
  • Patent number: 6694472
    Abstract: In general, the invention is directed to creating and placing an error correction code in a cell for error correction of data or frames carried by that cell or related cells. When frames of data arrive at a gateway between two networks, the frames of data are mapped into cells used for transport. Error correction codes are generated and placed into the payload of each transport frame or cell. The transport cells encapsulating the data frames are carried over the network to another gateway, wherein the transport cells are processed and corrected for errors based on an error correction code in one of the transport cells. Providing the error correction code allows for the correction of lost or corrupted information during transport without requiring retransmission of data. When multiple frames of data are mapped into a transport cell, error correction for one transport cell will minimize the need for retransmission of multiple data frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Mark J. Perry, Patrick J. Dagert
  • Patent number: 6387733
    Abstract: The present invention controls attachment of a first semiconductor material, such as a semiconductor die, to a second semiconductor material, such as a bond pad, substrate, or the like. A placement tool is used to pick up the first semiconductor material and move it to a defined position above the top surface of the second semiconductor material. The second semiconductor material will have an adhesive, such as epoxy, applied to its top surface. From the defined position above the second semiconductor material, the placement tool is allowed to fall for an amount of time previously determined to result in an adhesive layer of a defined thickness, within precise tolerances. The adhesive thickness is often referred to as bond line thickness (BLT) when bonding a semiconductor die to a bond pad, substrate, or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2002
    Assignee: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Howard Joseph Holyoak, John Cody Bailey
  • Patent number: 6243273
    Abstract: Apparatus for mounting retrofit equipment modules into the equipment mounting cabinetry of an installed modular equipment signal network includes an interface module and mini-backplane combination which is adapted for insertion into the equipment cabinetry with electrical signal connection of the mini-backplane to the cabinetry master backplane, and for mounting retrofit modules inserted therein in electrical signal interconnectivity with others of the network equipment modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Roger Arthur Beun, William Locke Craig, Jr., Joseph John Lommen, Janice Parker Broniak, Derek Chunchi Liou, Jeffrey Scott Taylor