Abstract: A force/sense voltage-mode DAC coupled with multiple transconductance amplifiers that generate a correction current injected to a node in one of the DAC cells is discussed. The correction current injected into the DAC cell may reduce nonlinearity produced by biasing current to the operational amplifiers in the DAC.

Abstract: Low leakage diodes and methods of forming the same are disclosed. In one embodiment an apparatus includes a designed or parasitic bipolar transistor having an emitter, a base and a collector. The bipolar transistor is configured to operate as a diode, the diode having reverse-biased and forward-biased modes of operation. The emitter and base operate as first and second terminals of the diode, respectively. The collector is configured to receive a collector bias voltage, which is controlled relative to a voltage of the emitter to reduce a diffusion leakage current of the diode when the diode is in the reverse-biased mode of operation.

Abstract: An amplifier has an input section with one or more input cells and an output section with one or more output cells. Either the input section or the output section includes at least two cells that may be selected to provide discrete gain settings. A loop amplifier is configured in a feedback arrangement with the input section. The input and output sections may have multiple selectable cells to provide coarse and fine gain steps. The gain of the loop amplifier may be coordinated with the gain of the input section to provide constant bandwidth operation.

Abstract: An integrator is described that may include a level-shifting capacitor, a feedback capacitor, a pre-amplifier stage and a multi-path amplifier module. The integrator may have inputs for connected an input signal source to the level-shifting capacitor. The level-shifting capacitor is connected to an input of a pre-amplifier stage of an integration signal path and to the input. The level-shifting capacitor may level shift the voltage at the input of the circuit to a lower voltage at the input of the pre-amplifier stage. Thereby, the supply voltage to the pre-amplifier stage may be reduced as well as have limited power consumption, limited temperature rise, and reduced noise that may be attributed to any thermal effects.

Abstract: The problems of large oscillator signal frequency change per bit, small runtime tuning bandwidth, and large wiring layout (and therefore large integrated circuit (IC) layout) in digitally-controlled oscillators are addressed by using an array of addressable tuning units, storing a data bit with respect to each tuning unit, and based on the data bit and an address bit, adjusting the output of each tuning unit.

Abstract: A MEMS switch with a platinum-series contact is capped through a process that also passivates the contact by controlling, over time, the amount of oxygen in the environment, pressures and temperatures. Some embodiments passivate a contact in an oxygenated atmosphere at a first temperature and pressure, before hermetically sealing the cap at a higher temperature and pressure. Some embodiments hermetically seal the cap at a temperature below which passivating dioxides will form, thus trapping oxygen within the volume defined by the cap, and later passivate the contact with the trapped oxygen at a higher temperature.

Abstract: A digital potentiometer includes a circuit containing multiple string arrays, each having a plurality of switching devices connected to an array of resistors. Each input terminal receives a separate digital input code enabling the resistance of one of the arms to be varied without changing the other.

Abstract: A bipolar transistor comprising an emitter region, a base region and a collector region, and a guard region spaced from and surrounding the base. The guard region can be formed in the same steps that form the base, and can serve to spread out the depletion layer in operation.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are disclosed, such as those involving a low noise amplifier. One such apparatus includes a low noise amplifier circuit configured to receive a signal at an input node and to output an amplified signal at an output node. The low noise amplifier circuit includes a first transistor of a first polarity; and a second transistor of a second polarity complementary to the first polarity. The first and second transistors are connected in series between first and second supply voltage nodes via the output node. The circuit further includes a third transistor cascoded with one of the first transistor or the second transistor, but does not include a transistor cascoded with the other transistor. This configuration allows the low noise amplifier circuit to provide an increased high-frequency gain and linearity while having improved high-frequency system noise figure in, for example, deep submicron CMOS technology.

Abstract: In one aspect, a software application for facilitating design of a register specification is provided. The application comprises an interface adapted to receive input from a user indicating information about at least one register in the register specification, the interface generating register information based on the received input, a translator coupled to the interface to receive the register information and adapted to convert the register information to an internal representation, and at least one filter adapted to transform the internal representation into at least one respective output format.

Abstract: An integrated circuit allows for the correction of distortion at an input of a sampling network. The integrated circuit contains a first bootstrap circuit to drive a sampling network transistor and a second bootstrap circuit to separate the back-gate terminal of the transistor from a voltage input by a resistance inserted in series. The presence of the inserted resistance counteracts the effect of the nonlinear back-gate capacitance on the distortion at the input.

Abstract: An integrated circuit allows for the correction of distortion at an input of a sampling network. The integrated circuit contains a first bootstrap circuit to drive a sampling network transistor and a second bootstrap circuit to separate the back-gate terminal of the transistor from a voltage input by a resistance inserted in series. The presence of the inserted resistance counteracts the effect of the nonlinear back-gate capacitance on the distortion at the input.

Abstract: A system and method for classifying touches input into a four-wire resistive touch screen is presented. A voltage may be applied to electrodes in a layer making it the active layer. A first set of four voltages may be measured by a voltage sensing circuit from electrodes in the active layer of a touch screen and a passive layer of a touch screen. The voltage may be switched from electrodes of the first layer to the electrodes of the second layer. A voltage sensing circuit may measure a second set of four voltages nearly simultaneously from electrodes in the active layer and the passive layer of a touch screen. Each set of measured voltages from the passive layer and or the active may be processed. A rule set may be applied to the processing results. An indication of the type of touch that was applied to the touch screen may be provided and optionally including quantitative results.

Abstract: A compound video cable has a drive interface, a receive interface with a differential-to-single ended converter, and a differential mode data wired transmission medium connected to the drive interface and the receive interface. The differential-to-single ended converter is configured to convert differential mode signals into single ended signals.

Abstract: A microphone has a movable diaphragm having a rest position, a stationary portion, and a set of springs movably coupling the diaphragm and the stationary portion. The diaphragm and stationary portion are spaced a first distance when the diaphragm is in the rest position. When not in the rest position, however, the diaphragm and stationary portion are capable of being spaced a second distance, which is greater than the first distance. Despite the change in distance, the diaphragm still is capable of returning the space from the second distance to the first distance when the diaphragm returns to the rest position.

Abstract: A bipolar transistor, comprising a collector, a base and an emitter, in which the collector comprises a relatively heavily doped region, and a relatively lightly doped region adjacent the base, and in which the relatively heavily doped region is substantially omitted from an intrinsic region of the transistor.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are disclosed related to low-voltage radio transmitters with high spectral purity. One such apparatus includes a baseband path with a predistortion stage, a programmable filter, and an upconverter core. In an embodiment, the programmable filter is placed between the predistortion stage and the upconverter core. In an embodiment, the programmable filter is configured by a controller to reject out-of-band noise introduced at the predistortion stage or earlier.

Abstract: A method for calibrating a bandwidth of a phase-locked loop begins with detecting an error signal generated by the phase-locked loop in response to a stimulus signal. The difference between the integral of the error signal and a nominal value thereof is computed, and the bandwidth of the phase-locked loop is adjusted based on the computed difference.

Abstract: A microphone system has a chip system coupled to a base. Among other things, the chip system includes a microphone chip and a circuit chip, in a stacked relationship, configured to electrically communicate. The microphone chip has a diaphragm configured to move upon receipt of an incident audio signal, while the circuit chip has at least one through hole audibly coupled with the diaphragm of the microphone chip.

Abstract: A processor includes a compute array comprising a first plurality of compute engines serially connected along a data flow path such that data flows between successive compute engines at successive times. The first plurality of compute engines includes an initial compute engine and a final compute engine. The data flow path includes a recirculation path connecting the final compute engine to the initial compute engine with no compute engine therebetween.