Abstract: Formation of a unitary laminate rechargeable battery comprising electrode and separator/electrolyte elements of polymer composition utilizes apparatus comprising compression rollers of sufficient hardness to resist deformation during laminating contact with such elements. Maximum progressive compression short of lateral deformation of battery elements ensures expulsion of interfacial entrapments and optimum functional contact between laminate elements. Battery structures fabricated with the apparatus may comprise active particulate component ratios in excess of about 75% by weight.

Abstract: A ferroelectric cell in which a ferroelectric stack of a perovskite ferroelectric sandwiched by cubic perovskite metal-oxide conductive electrodes are formed over a silicon body, such as a polysilicon plug penetrating a field oxide over a silicon transistor. According to the invention, an oxidation barrier is placed between the lower metal-oxide electrode and the polysilicon. The oxidation barrier may be: (1) a refractory metal sandwiched between two platinum layer which forms a refractory oxide in a platinum matrix; (2) an intermetallic barrier beneath a platinum electrode, e.g., of NiAl; or (3) a combination of Ru and SrRuO.sub.3 or similar materials. Thereby, the polysilicon plug is protected from oxidation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for delivering calling line information in a manner which preserves the privacy interests of the caller while providing useful information to the called party. The caller initiates a call from a caller terminal of a communication network. A destination central office or other network element receives the call along with a complete calling line number and delivers partial calling line information to the called party prior to connecting the call. The partial calling line information may include an NPA-NXX portion of an NPA-NXX-XXXX calling line number, geographical information such as state, county, city, township and zip code associated with the calling line, and/or an indication as to whether the call is from a residence, business, pay phone, cellular phone or other particular source such as a hospital or hotel.

Abstract: A data processing system (10) comprising a general purpose computer (20) for carrying out database processing operations. An aggregation system (30) is in communication with the general purpose computer (20). The aggregation system (30) includes a memory (32) for storing, for each of a plurality of data values, a base value and one or more incremental updates. An aggregation processor (34) forming part of the aggregation system (30) receives the incremental updates from the general purpose computer (20), writes the incremental updates into the memory (32), and controls the aggregation of base values and incremental updates stored in said memory (32) to read the data values. In this manner data values are updated and read without the use of locking operations.

Abstract: A number of RPs stagger the times in which they begin searching for available channels. In a preferred method, one of a plurality of RPs in a UPCS system is selected to have a first start time. The system determines which RPs in the system can "see" the selected RP. Each of these RPs is given a unique stagger start time. This process may be repeated until each RP in the system is assigned a stagger start time. Alternatively, if there are fewer RPs in the system than there are available stagger start times, each RP may be selected to have a unique stagger start time.

Abstract: A data network system for communicating data between a plurality of data generating systems externally connected to the data network system and a plurality of application systems externally connected to the data network system The data network system provides source objects corresponding to the data generating systems and destination objects corresponding to the application systems. The destination objects defining processes performed on data provided to corresponding application systems. The data generating systems generate data to be collected. The data network system creates container objects to contain the collected data, and identifies a destination object from the container objects to receive the container objects. The data network system also processes the container objects in accordance with the processes defined by the identified destination object, and transmits data corresponding to the processed container objects to the application system corresponding to the identified destination object.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for providing secure session key distribution using a smart circuit card or other intelligent device. First and second hosts communicate with each other and with a server over a communication network. The first host initiates the session key distribution process by transmitting a session identifier to the server. The first host uses a first smart card storing the first host secret key to generate a first message in the form of a random bit stream which is transmitted to the second host. The server generates a second message as a function of the server secret key and the session identifier, and transmits it to the first host. The second host uses a second smart card storing the second host secret key to generate a third message as a function of the second host secret key and the first message, and transmits the third message to the first host.

Abstract: A waveguide having alternating regions of different crystallographic orientations, thereby providing quasi-phase-matching for a non-linear frequency conversion, in which two wafers with epitaxial layers thereon are bonded together having different, preferably opposed, crystallographic orientations. One wafer is etched away, and a grating is etched such that one part of the grating has the orientation of one wafer and the other part has the orientation of the other wafer. Thereafter, a waveguide structure is epitaxially deposited upon the differentially oriented template so that the waveguide is differentially oriented in its axial direction. Thereby, quasi-phase-matching non-linear effects can be achieved.

Abstract: A ferroelectric capacitor structure and its method of making in which a ferroelectric stack of two metal-oxide electrodes sandwiching a ferroelectric layer is fabricated on a silicon substrate with an intervening barrier layer, preferably of TiN. In one embodiment, a platinum layer is grown between the TiN and the lower metal-oxide electrode at a sufficiently high temperature that provides crystallographically ordered growth of the ferroelectric stack. In another embodiment, the platinum layer was completely eliminated with the lower electrode being grown directly on the TiN. Although the conventional conductive metal-oxide used in the electrode is lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSCO), lanthanum nickel oxide provides good electrical and lifetime characteristics in a ferroelectric cell. Alternatively, the electrodes can be formed of the rock-salt metal oxides, such as neodymium oxide (NdO).

Abstract: A waveguide having alternating regions of different crystallographic orientations, thereby providing quasi-phase-matching for a non-linear frequency conversion, in which two wafers with or without epitaxial layers thereon are bonded together having different, preferably opposed, crystallographic orientations. One wafer is etched away, and a grating is etched such that one part of the grating has the orientation of one wafer and the other part has the orientation of the other wafer. Thereafter, a waveguide structure is epitaxially deposited upon the differentially oriented template so that the waveguide is differentially oriented in its axial direction. Thereby, quasi-phase-matching non-linear effects can be achieved. Several important devices can thereby be achieved, including a coherent optical source using frequency doubling and a frequency converter useful in wavelength division multiplexed communication, as well as others.

Abstract: A broadband system includes a broadband switch network, a broadband session controller, and a broadband service control point. The broadband network provides connections between information sender/receivers in response to instructions from a broadband service control point or in response to requests originated by an information sender/receiver. The broadband service control point provides processing instructions and/or data to the broadband controller and information sender/receiver. Applications supported by the broadband network include video-on-demand and videoconferencing services for system users. For video-on-demand, a settop controller is associated with a video display of each system user. One or more video information providers ("VIPs") stores video information to be sent to the user's settop controller via the broadband switch network.

Abstract: Disclosed is a telecommunication system that is both highly cost effective for small scale applications (for example, those having less than 80 lines), yet field upgrade-expandable to applications having a significant number of additional lines (for example, 30,000 lines). An integrated voice/data telecommunication system is utilized that is flexible enough to handle low bandwidth (for example 64 kbps mu-law) speech as well as high bandwidth multimedia data switching. The system may be configured as a low cost, standalone PACS system for "village telephony" or "PACS-on-POTS" applications, as an alternative to requirements for PACS infrastructure when appropriate wireless network facilities are unavailable.

Abstract: Protection Bundles (PB) facilitate efficient protection switching in a network and can be applied at any network layer. A PB is preferably assigned to all working signals sharing the exact same protection facilities. The working facilities that a PB traverses define a Bundled Protection Fragment (BPF)(560, 564, 568). The end-points of the BPF exchange coordination protocol messages along the protection facilities when necessary. The protection facilities between the end-points of a BPF define each BPFs Common Protection Route (CPR)(562, 566, 570).

Abstract: A system for creating user defined software interface contracts for sending host system data to any external system. The external systems can reside on any type of hardware platform. The invocation of a contract is controlled by a set of user defined conditions known as an event. The creation of event and contracts is completely under the control of the users of the external systems with little or no support of the host system developers to establish new interfaces to the external systems.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are described for predicting a subjective quality rating associated with a reference image compressed at a given level. My apparatus includes components for, and my method includes steps of, storing a digitized color image representing a reference image in memory and compressing at a given level and decompressing the reference image to produce a processed image. My apparatus and method also entail converting the reference image and the processed image each to a grayscale image and dividing each grayscale image into an array of blocks. My apparatus and method further entail generating a first intensity variance array corresponding to the array of blocks of the grayscale reference image and a second intensity variance array corresponding to the array of blocks of the grayscale processed image.

Abstract: In communication network, the network blocking probability can be efficiently calculated by applying a Gaussian approximation to a fixed point algorithm. Gaussian curves are approximated to represent state probability distributions of the network links. By efficiently calculating the network blocking probability, the network can be optimally designed by lowering the network blocking probability below a threshold at the least cost.

Abstract: A ferroelectric memory cell integrated on a silicon substrate. The ferroelectric stack includes a ferroelectric layer, such as PbNbZrTiO, sandwiched between conductive metal-oxide electrodes, such as the perovskite LaSrCoO. The ferroelectric stack is grown over a barrier layer of an intermetallic alloy such as Ni.sub.3 Al or Ti.sub.3 Al, which is highly resistant to oxidation at elevated temperatures. The intermetallic layer is either deposited directly over the silicon substrate or over an intermediate TiN layer. The resulting structure does not require a platinum barrier layer.

Abstract: A system and method for equalizing delay in a dynamic packet switching network using transmit and receive buffers. The network includes a plurality of user access stations each equipped with a transmit buffer and a receive buffer, and a plurality of switches and communication links interconnecting the user access stations. A control station having communication links to the switches and user access stations operates to set up and change transmission paths between the user access stations, and to control the buffers in the user access stations to equalize packet transmission delay through the network and to eliminate packet rate doubling upon changing transmission paths. The system also includes a buffer shifting feature whereby a controlled buffering in a transmitting user access station is gradually shifted to a buffer in a receiving user access station during a period of time following a change from a longer transmission path to a shorter transmission path.

Abstract: A method of managing the overloading of calls directed to a single telephone number. The method enables Service Control Point to service calls a small percentage of the time during measurement intervals in order to receive Termination Notification messages. The Service Control Point then determines, from the contents of the Termination Notification messages for each measurement interval, the rate of attempted calls and the fraction of the total calls that were incomplete, (i.e., erroneous or received a busy signal) for a telephone number n, and invokes Automatic Code Gapping for the number n where both the attempted call rate and the incomplete calls exceed a predetermined threshold. If the threshold continues to be exceeded in subsequent measurement intervals, a larger gap interval for the Automatic Code Gapping can be set, and the process repeated until the proper gap is found.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for use in an optical system. An in-line optical wavelength reference and control module (WRCM) is inserted in series with an optical fiber signal path between an input fiber and an output fiber. The WRCM includes an input lens, a multi-element grating and an output lens. The input lens couples an input optical signal from the input fiber into the multi-element grating. The multi-element grating includes low-efficiency gratings which reflect portions of the input optical signal having different predetermined characteristics to different detectors of a detector array, while transmitting the remaining portions of the input optical signal to the output lens. The output lens couples the transmitted portions of the optical signal back onto the optical signal path. The WRCM may thus be placed directly in series with an optical signal path.