Abstract: A laser diode is matched to a laser driver IC by a microwave stub to take advantage of radio frequency/microwave effects of electrical conductors on high frequency signals. The microwave stub is a piece of microwave transmission line with a characteristic impedance defined by its physical dimensions and its material. A transmission line having a distributed set of capacitors and inductors is tuned over a range of frequencies by changing its operating length/width. A capacitor short circuits the microwave stub to ground. The capacitor position along the microwave stub determines the microwave transmission line operating length (and hence frequency). Therefore, a matching network is tuned by changing the capacitor position along the microwave stub instead of using several different valued capacitors.

Abstract: The present invention relates to microdevices for introducing a small volume of a fluid sample into an ionization chamber. The microdevices are constructed from a substrate having a first and second opposing surfaces, the substrate having a microchannel formed in the first surface, and a cover plate arranged over the first surface, the cover plate in combination with the microchannel defining a conduit for conveying the sample. A sample inlet port is provided in fluid communication with the microchannel, wherein the sample inlet port allows the fluid sample from an external source to be conveyed in a defined sample flow path that travels, in order, through the sample inlet port, the conduit and a sample outlet port and into the ionization chamber. Optionally, the fluid sample undergoes a chemical or biochemical reaction within an integrated portion of the microdevice before reaching the ionization chamber. A nebulizing means nebulizes the fluid sample in a nebulizing region adjacent to the sample outlet port.

Abstract: The invention concerns a procedure for processing measuring data and a device to perform the procedure, wherein the measuring data can be determined by using a measurement system, more particularly a chromatographic analyzing system, for the measurement of measuring values that correspond to certain useful information about, or of, a technical process and that depend on at least two variables.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for making a microscopic paddle wheel coupled inductively by an external electromagnet and used for valving and active pumping so that the actual pumping mechanism is completely isolated from the electromagnetic driver. The paddle wheel is inexpensive to manufacture and disposable. A cartridge having a network of conduits and reservoirs contains several of such paddle wheels to transport blood and reagents. A point-of-care device houses the electromagnetic driving mechanism and is reused with successive cartridges since the paddle wheels are contained by the cartridge and do not contaminate the driving mechanism.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method and device to carry out the method to provide quality control for a photosensor, especially a photodiode array, whose output signal depends on the intensity of an input signal formed by electromagnetic waves. The photosensor to be tested receives stimulation signals forming the input signals while the stimulation signal intensity of the stimulation signals is varied. The associated output signals of the photosensor to be tested are measured and recorded for evaluation purposes. The photosensor preferably receives at least two independently controllable, superposed individual stimulation signals with individual intensities. The different stimulation signal intensities of the individual stimulation signals are set with the aid of a controller coupled to stimulation signal source, and the output signals of the photosensor are measured and recorded using a measurement data recorder unit.

Abstract: A separation column for a gas chromatograph that includes a block of electrically insulating material having a channel located between two strips of thermoelectric material spaced from the channel by strips of electrically insulating material. Electrodes are connected to opposite ends of the strips of thermoelectric material. More specifically, each strip of thermoelectric material has two layers of dissimilar material to enable the strips to provide selective heating and cooling depending on the direction of current flow through the strips.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a mass spectrometer that includes an ionization source having a chamber for ionizing a fluid sample. The ionization chamber has surfaces to reduce the overall interaction with reactive samples. The inner surface walls of the ionization chamber may be formed from an inorganic conductive nitride or disulfide material or may be applied to a substrate as a coating. The invention also includes a method for reducing the interaction of a reactive analyte with the inner wall of the chamber by application or coating the inner wall of the chamber with an inert conductive material.

Abstract: Mapping of a network topology, comprising a plurality of elements with one or more interconnections between the plurality of elements, is accomplished by representing the plurality of elements in a first matrix dimension, and representing the one or more interconnections in a second matrix dimension. A group of elements can be represented in a third matrix dimension. Instead of representing a connecting device for connecting groups of elements in the first matrix dimension, the connecting device can be represented in the second matrix dimension. The mapping can be used for providing a graphical representation of the network topology. In one embodiment, the plurality of elements is represented by parallel lines in the first matrix dimension, and/or the one or more interconnections by parallel lines are represented in the second matrix dimension.

Abstract: An amplifier circuit includes an amplifier stage and a balun stage. The amplifier stage includes a common node connected to an external ground. An inductance is located between the common node and the external ground. The balun stage is connected to the amplifier stage. The balun stage includes a balun tail. The balun tail is directly connected to the common node of the amplifier stage so that a resulting connection between the balun tail and the common node bypasses the inductance between the common node and the external ground.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determination of properties, e.g. of elements of the Jones matrix of an optical device under test, comprising the steps of: producing an incoming light beam, splitting the light beam into a first light beam and a second light beam, coupling the first light beam, preferably having two parts delayed with respect to each other, with a given initial polarization into the optical device under test, letting the second light beam travel a different path than the first light beam, superimposing the first light beam and the second light beam to produce interference between the first light beam and the second light beam in a resulting superimposed light beam, splitting the superimposed light beam into a third light beam polarization dependent and a fourth light beam, detecting the power of the third and the fourth light beam as a function of frequency when tuning the frequency of the incoming light beam over a given frequency range, deriving optical properties, e.g.

Abstract: A laboratory microchip providing a microspray has a substrate having a channel structure on one side thereof. A microspray tip is on the other side of the substrate close to an edge of the substrate. The substrate is deformable in a particular region. Deformation results from thinning the substrate locally in the region or by providing a linear perforation that extends approximately perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. Alternatively, deformation can be obtained by selecting a suitable material for the entire substrate. Substrate deformation can be permanent or reversible.

Abstract: A method of reducing baseline instabilities in liquid chromatographic measurements is disclosed. A mobile phase comprising sample substances passes through a chromatographic column comprising a stationary phase, and subsequently through a detector. An additional solid body or liquid bath having a high heat capacity and heat conductance is coupled to the column and to an inlet capillary of the column such that the inlet capillary and the column are enclosed by said solid body or liquid bath. In that way temperature stabilization of the column and inlet capillaries is achieved and baseline variations due to temperature dependent adsorption of water at the stationary phase, in particular stationary phases with amino functional groups, are reduced.

Abstract: A solution to problems of poor RF performance in conventional BNC connectors is to first, eliminate the use of Teflon, in favor of an air dielectric in the vicinity of the mating parts, and support the male and female center pins further back within the body of the connector, using other proven dielectric materials borrowed from the precision type N connector, or from another 7 mm RF connector. Next, a captive knurled draw nut provides positive displacement and the tension needed to draw the already mated male and female connector halves together, in place of the conventional spring tension. It is the bottoming out of the male shell inside the female shell that resists the positive displacement and the tension supplied by the knurled draw nut, ensuring that the two connector halves are actually in contact, and that the edges of shell surfaces that need to “vanish” for good operation do indeed vanish.

Abstract: A multi-range measuring circuit for measuring a flow of electrical current between a first node and a second node. A measurement resistor is connected to the first node to develop a voltage having a high range output. A summing node connected in series with the measurement resistor acts as an input to an amplifier for developing a second voltage having a low range output having a higher scale factor than the high range output. If the capacity of the amplifier to maintain the low range as a linear function is exceeded, a bypass circuit bypasses excess current flow to the second node.

Abstract: Optical navigation upon grainy surfaces whose orientation is inclined at about 45° to the X and Y axes of the navigation mechanism is enhanced by: First, detect that a spatial filter in use is inappropriate for the orientation presently occurring, and; Second, employ a different and more appropriate spatial filter subsequent to such detection. Two spatial filters have been developed that are respectively effective about the 45° and 135° inclinations of the Standard filter. The shape of a correlation surface used in the navigation process is tested for the presence of a transverse ridge in the correlation surface. This generates control metrics whose filtered excursions are tracked by a control system that changes the spatial filter in use. The control system incorporates a time constant to prevent thrashing and excessive sensitivity to isolated random variations.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the control or stabilisation of the lasing wavelength of a source of laser radiation (8), comprising a semiconductor material laser (2), a substrate (4) to which the laser (2) is mounted, a resonant optical cavity (15) within the semiconductor material (16,18,20), the cavity (15) having an active medium (16) for generating laser radiation (8) and one or more gaps (28) in the semiconductor material (16,18,20) within the cavity (15), wherein the substrate (4) is deformable by the application of a mechanical stress (14) to vary the size of said gap(s) (28) in order to change the optical size of said gap(s) and hence to vary the wavelength of laser radiation (8) generated by the semiconductor laser (2).

Abstract: Correction of differences between two analog to digital converters (ADCs) in broadband intermediate frequency conversion. By stimulating a two-ADC system with a known input, the impulse response of the system is derived, and from that impulse response a finite impulse response filter is derived which corrects for mismatches between the ADCs.

Abstract: Disclosed is an event recognition unit (400) for recognizing and/or monitoring events on an information bus (120). The event recognition unit (400) comprises a sequencer state machine (140) for determining sequential dependencies of events, and a comparator (110) coupled to the information bus (120) and to the sequencer state machine (140). The comparator (110) provides a signal to the sequencer state machine (140) when a pattern on the information bus (120) matches with a pattern term of the comparator (110). The event recognition unit (400) further comprises an output loop (410, 420) from the sequencer state machine (140) to the comparator (110) for dynamically setting the pattern term of the comparator (110).

Abstract: A differential filter includes a first input, a second input, a first output, a second output, and a plurality of acoustic resonator elements. The plurality of acoustic resonator elements is connected to the first input, the second input, the first output and the second output. The acoustic resonator elements are arranged to form at least two of a lattice structure, a full ladder structure and a paired half ladder structure.

Abstract: Timing errors in digital transmission systems, such as maximum time interval error, are measured with data samples processed in a first stage to produce in real-time a first, time-varying series of measurements for a given parameter over observation intervals of a first magnitude. Each observation interval is many times longer than the sample period of the input series. Subsequent stages derive further measurements, corresponding to increasingly longer observation intervals, derived by treating previous observation intervals as sub-intervals. The first stage derives intermediate results for a predetermined interval and repeats for successive sub-intervals. The intermediate results are stored in a first first-in, first-out (FIFO) data set and updated at least once per sub-interval and the required parameter is derived. The second and subsequent stages similarly derive the required parameter corresponding to increasing observation interval magnitudes and update the measurements as data sets update.