Abstract: Methods to identify inter-carrier telephone calls in a telephone system that are being mis-routed in such a way as to violate existing regulatory tariffs and/or established inter-carrier contracts. The common name for this manipulation is “arbitrage”, and the intent of the perpetrators is to take advantage of lower rates associated with the delivery of telephone traffic via other routes. Through the processes of collecting call detail records and their correlation in representative embodiments, various call “legs” associated with the same call can be identified, and a more accurate “compound” call record can be made that incorporates call routing information obtained from the individual call legs. A statistical analysis can then be performed to more clearly illuminate any arbitrage.

Abstract: An integrated tunable laser structure comprising a substrate made of semiconductor material, the substrate comprising a first, a second, and a third section. The first section provides a low-selective interferometric filtering together with an amplification of a light wave resonating in the laser structure. The second section provides continuous fine-tuning and phase adjustment of the light wave, and the third section provides a wavelength selective reflection of the light wave. Each section allows current injection, wherein a current into the first section causes a wavelength shift of the low-selective interferometric filtering, a current into the second section causes a wavelength shift of resonator modes, and a current into the third section causes a wavelength shift of the wavelength selective reflection.

Abstract: A heat sink comprises a core member comprising at least one core member first surface. The core member first surface is adapted to contact or be located adjacent at least a portion of the heat source. At least one outer peripheral surface is located on the core member. At least one cooling fin is operatively connected to the outer peripheral surface and extends in a direction substantially normal to the core member first surface. At least a portion of the outer peripheral surface is tapered, wherein the circumference of the outer peripheral surface in the proximity of the first surface is greater than the circumference of the outer peripheral surface not in the proximity of the first surface.

Abstract: A method of operating a communication network with a network management system is described. Said communication network comprises a number of objects being stored in a database on a server. Said network management system is located on the server which can be accessed by a client. Said method of operating the communication network comprises the transmission of data between the server and the client under the use of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). Said method comprises the step of using a single definition for creating a number of objects.

Abstract: An electronic instrument includes instrument hardware. A data acquisition engine schedules time sharing of the instrument hardware. Channel objects act each as a client of the data acquisition engine. The channel objects each included a channel buffer that contains data obtained from the instrument hardware. Measurement objects are each a client of one of the plurality of channel objects. Each measurement object processes data obtained from a channel buffer of a channel object to which the measurement object is a client. Display window objects are each a client of at least one of the plurality of measurement objects, each display window object displaying data processed by any measurement object to which the display window object is a client. Memory within the electronic instrument is allocated among object types to accommodate a user specified mix of object types.

Abstract: Probes and methods for testing electrical circuits are provided. One such probe includes a conductive socket, a conductive spring, and a housing that guides the conductive spring to the conductive socket to form an electrical connection between the spring and the socket. Once such method includes providing a conical housing and a spring and guiding the spring to the socket via the conical housing. The guiding step ensures that the spring contacts the socket during assembly and, therefore, ensures that a conductive path from the socket to the spring is provided. Methods and other probes are also provided.

Abstract: Liquids are transferred from a plurality of wells or depots having openings arranged in a selected format to one or more receptacles, by displacing liquid contained in each well so that a convex meniscus swells from the opening, and contacting the receptacle with the swollen meniscus to draw a portion of the liquid into the receptacle. According to the invention, the liquid transfer is effected directly from the depot to the corresponding receptacle without contact between depots and receptacles, and without interposition of any transfer device between depots and receptacles.

Abstract: Liquid metal micro-switches. Liquid metal micro-switches and techniques for fabricating them in integrally shielded microcircuits are disclosed. The liquid metal micro-switches can be integrated directly into the construction of shielded thick film microwave modules. This integration is useful in applications requiring high frequency switching with high levels of electrical isolation.

Abstract: A diagnosis engine for diagnosing a device having a plurality of components receives test results of a set of tests on the device where at least one test has failed, and a model giving the coverage of the tests on the components of the device and information describing probabilistic dependencies between the tests. The diagnosis engine includes a specifier to specify a number N of components that may be simultaneously bad, N being an integer, and a computer to compute, within floating point computation errors, a likelihood that each of subsets of the components having size less than or equal to N are the bad components.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for producing and inspecting a plurality of deposited features in a pattern on a portion of a substrate surface, as in an oligonucleotide array. The apparatus comprises a printhead for depositing a fluid to form the array of features on the substrate surface and a camera for imaging the deposited features. The apparatus also comprises a printhead controller for positioning and activating the inkjet printhead to deposit the array features. The camera, e.g., a digital line scan camera, is controlled by a camera controller such that the camera acquires images corresponding to substantially only the portion of the surface on which features should have been deposited. The camera and printhead are preferably situated such that an induced movement of the printhead relative to the substrate results in a substantially identical corresponding movement of the camera.

Abstract: An optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) device comprising optical components that are integrated together to provide an optical WDM that does not require circulators, that has simplified alignment and that is relatively low in cost. The WDM device comprises an integrated port separator, a dispersive element and a reflector. The integrated port separator comprises various optical components, that spatially separate the polarization components of a light beam input through an input port of the integrated port separator. The spatially separated polarization components are output from the integrated port separator and impinge on the dispersive element, which spatially separates the wavelengths associated with the polarization components impinging thereon. The spatially separated wavelengths then impinge on the reflective element and are reflected with angles of polarization that depend on the state of the reflective element.

Abstract: A logic analyzer integrates the capabilities of both textual and graphical description into a common environment, so that each can be used as needed, and in conjunction with the other. In an example embodiment a trigger specification can comprise many “steps”. A step can be conceptualized as an atomic segment of flow charting that involves or investigates a quantity or condition of interest. These steps may involve testing, and a decision concerning whether or not to trigger or whether or not to advance to a next step. A given step can be either textual or graphical. A GUI (Graphical User Interface, as in computer windows, and not to be confused with ‘graphical’ meaning ‘waveform-like’) on a CRT screen in conjunction with a pointing device (e.g., mouse) provides the presentation of the integrated textual and graphical (waveform-like) trigger specification steps.

Abstract: A method of evaluating for the presence of a polypeptide in an analyte, using an addressable array of capture agents linked to a substrate. The analyte is exposed to the array and a set of fixed capture agents, such that the target molecules will bind to the array by means of the capture agents. After the target molecule has bound to the capture agents, it is modified using a label. The label does not interact or mark the capture agent. Kits using such arrays are further provided.

Abstract: A nitride semiconductor device that comprises a first layer, a second layer and a buffer layer sandwiched between the first layer and the second layer. The second layer is a layer of a single-crystal nitride semiconductor material including AlN and has a thickness greater than the thickness at which cracks would form if the second layer were grown directly on the first layer. The buffer layer is a layer of a low-temperature-deposited nitride semiconductor material that includes AlN. Incorporating the nitride semiconductor device into a semiconductor laser diode enables the laser diode to generate coherent light having a far-field pattern that exhibits a single peak.

Abstract: A data manipulation method to make local chromatography data more usable and comparable to a reference. The method provides time axis correction to better match local data to a reference of the same time scale, time axis transformation to correspond more directly to a reference based on a different time scale, and response axis correction to better match a reference of the same or different response scale, while maintaining the original peak areas. The method may be used along or concurrently with other data manipulation technique to facilitate operations such as searching, matching, visual comparison, mathematical manipulation, and pattern recognition of chromatographic data.

Abstract: A measurement system is provided that is capable of analyzing light at the input of an optical waveguide of an optical device under test (DUT) and/or at the output of the waveguide, preferably at both. At the input of the waveguide, light having a particular polarization state generated by a polarization controller is output from the polarization controller and coupled into a proximal end of an optical fiber. The measurement system analyzes the polarization state of the light being launched from the opposite, or distal, end of the optical fiber into the waveguide input of the DUT to determine whether and by how much the polarization state of the light has been changed by the optical fiber. The polarization controller is altered, if necessary, to compensate for any changes in the polarization state caused by the optical fiber so that the polarization state of light being launched into the input of the optical fiber is known and is controllable.

Abstract: A three-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide apparatus has a three-dimensional photonic crystal, the three-dimensional photonic crystal having a plurality of layers arranged one above another, each of the plurality of layers having a plurality of elements that are parallel to and spaced from one another, the plurality of elements in each layer arranged at an angle other than zero with respect to the plurality of elements in an adjacent layer. The three-dimensional photonic crystal also has a waveguide therein comprising a first region of defects in a segment of an element in one layer of the plurality of layers and having a light input, and a second region of defects in at least a segment of an element in an adjacent layer of the plurality of layers and having two light outputs, the first and second region of defects intersecting to provide an optical splitter that extends from the one layer to the adjacent layer.

Abstract: In a method for characterizing frequency translation devices (FTDs), a stimulus signal is applied to a first port of a frequency translation device and a drive signal is applied to a second port of the frequency translation device. A third port of the frequency translation device is coupled to an input of a filter. The frequency translation device, at the third port, provides a translated signal having a sum signal component and a difference signal component. A first, second and third reflection response to the applied stimulus signal are obtained with alternative terminations coupled to an output of the filter. The reflection responses include variations in either the sum signal component or the difference signal component as designated by the filter, where the variations depend on which of the alternative terminations is coupled to the output of the filter.

Abstract: This invention relates to an optical sub assembly for receiving an optical fibre transmission line for coupling to an optical device, to a receptacle for use in such a sub assembly and to a method of manufacture of such a sub assembly. In particular, this invention relates to an optical sub assembly which provides electrical isolation between a receptacle (1) having a nose (8) for receiving the optical fibre and a package (2) housing an optical device (3).

Abstract: A signal-sampling unit for sampling a digital test signal comprises a sampling path receiving the test signal and comprising a first comparator for comparing the test signal against a first threshold value and providing a first comparison signal as result of the comparison. The sampling path further comprises a sampling device for receiving as input the first comparison signal together with a timing signal comprising a plurality of successive timing marks. The sampling device is adapted to derive a value of the first comparison signal for one or more of the timing marks. A clock recovery unit further receives the test signal and derives therefrom the timing signal.