Abstract: Method for determining a blood pressure value including the steps of: providing a pulsatility signal, determining a time-related feature and a normalized amplitude-related feature on the basis of the pulsatility signal; and calculating a blood pressure value on the basis of a blood pressure function depending on the time-related feature, the normalized amplitude-related feature and function parameters.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method including: a) obtaining a substrate extending in a predetermined plane with a first layer parallel to the plane; b) forming a through-hole in the first layer; c) depositing a second layer on the first, the second layer filling the a through-hole to form a bridge of material; d) etching a hairspring in an etching layer made up of the second layer or the substrate, the one of the second layer and the substrate in which the a hairspring is not etched constituting a support, the bridge of material connecting the hairspring to the support perpendicular to the predetermined plane; e) removing the first layer, the hairspring remaining attached to the support by the bridge of material; f) subjecting the hairspring to a thermal treatment; and g) detaching the hairspring from the support.

Abstract: Disclosed is a device including a compliant mechanism including: a first monolithic flexible element, having first and second ends defining a first longitudinal direction, arranged such that it is able to be subjected to an elastic deformation involving a relative movement between its first and second ends; and at least a second monolithic flexible element, having first and second ends defining a second longitudinal direction distinct from the first longitudinal direction, arranged such that it is able to be subjected to an elastic deformation involving a relative movement between its first and second ends. At least one of the first and second monolithic flexible elements includes at least one opening located between its first and second ends and defining a passage for a portion of the other monolithic flexible element such that the first and second monolithic flexible elements are interlocked.

Abstract: A pivot mechanism for guiding in rotation comprises a mobile element connected to a fixed element through flexible connections; with the flexible elements being configured to guide the mobile element according to a rotational movement in a plane, around a pivoting axis perpendicular to the plane; with each of the flexible connections comprising an intermediary junction provided with an expansion slot, the expansion slot being configured to expand during the rotation of the mobile element, so that the mobile element can pivot according to a second angular amplitude that is greater than a first angular amplitude achieved without said expansion slot; with the intermediary junctions being connected to one another by a coupling member; each of the coupling members being configured so as to prevent a movement out of the plane and a lateral movement in the plane of the mobile element. The pivot mechanism has a very high rotational amplitude.

Abstract: Method of manufacturing a photovoltaic module comprising at least a first layer and a second layer affixed to each other by means of an encapsulant, said method comprising a lamination step wherein the encapsulant material comprises a silane-modified polyolefin having a melting point below 90° C., pigment particles and an additive comprising a cross-linking catalyst; and wherein in said lamination step heat and pressure are applied to the module, said heat being applied at a temperature between 60° C. and 125° C.

Abstract: A nano-structured optical wavelength transmission filter is provided. The optical filter includes a patterned substrate on which a high refractive index dielectric waveguide is arranged. A low index dielectric layer is arranged on the high refractive index dielectric waveguide, on which an array of metallic nanostructures is arranged. The layers of the optical filter have conformal shapes defined by a patterned surface of the substrate. An optical filter system includes the optical transmission filter and a detector array fixed to the substrate. A spectrometer includes at least one optical transmission filter and/or at least one said optical transmission filter system, and has a spectral resolution of lower than 30 nm for incident light having a wavelength between 300 nm and 790 nm. A method of fabrication of an optical filter, an optical filter system and a spectrometer is also described.

Abstract: A resonant waveguide grating includes a waveguiding layer and a plurality of subwavelength structures. The waveguiding layer, being in optical proximity to the plurality of subwavelength structures, is configured to guide at most ten wave-guided light modes. The plurality of subwavelength structures includes at least two adjacent grooves having a subwavelength distance between their groove centers being different than the subwavelength distance between the centers of two adjacent ridges. The plurality of subwavelength structures is configured to couple out of the waveguiding layer resonantly by diffraction, an outcoupled fraction of an incoupled portion of incident light. The outcoupled fraction is a diffracted part of an incident light beam. A diffractive optical combiner and a diffractive optical coupler, both include the resonant waveguide grating of the invention. A near-eye display apparatus includes at least the resonant waveguide grating of the invention.

Abstract: Method of manufacturing a micromechanical component intended to cooperate with another micromechanical component, the method comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming a mould on said substrate, said mould defining sidewalls arranged to delimit said micromechanical component, providing particles on at least said sidewalls, depositing a metal in said mould so as to form said micromechanical component, and liberating said micromechanical component from said mould and removing said particles.

Abstract: A sprung balance type mechanical timekeeper, includes a spiral spring (10), a balance (20) and an escapement mechanism (30) connected by a point of attachment (12) to the spiral spring and arranged to sustain an oscillation of the balance. The escapement mechanism (30) is connected to the point of attachment (12) of the spiral spring by a chassis (40) pivoted about the axis (A) of the balance. An outer end (12) of the spiral spring (10) is attached to this transverse pert (40) at a location located on one side of the balance axis (A). The chassis (40) includes two branches extending on either side of the axis of the balance (20) and forming a rotary plate whose axis of rotation is coincident with the axis of oscillation of the balance (20). The escapement mechanism (30) is located on the other side of the balance axis (A) and acts on the pivoted chassis (40) so as to free its rotation and thus make the attached end (12) of the spiral spring rotate.

Abstract: A pixel circuit for a ultra-low power image sensor, including: an integration node, on which a photodiode current is integrated, a comparator arranged to compare a voltage at the integration node with a reference voltage, a n+1 bits digital memory, a writing pulse signal generator arranged to generate a writing pulse signal, on the basis of the comparator output voltage and on the voltage at a memory node, the start of the pulse triggering the writing of the digital word in the n-bits digital memory part. The comparator includes a switch in series with a current source and arranged to be commanded by the voltage at the memory node so that the switch is open at the end of the pulse, so as to drastically limit the consumption of static power of the pixel circuit during the integration phase.

Abstract: A photovoltaic device is proposed comprising a silicon-based substrate (2) having a p-type or n-type doping, with an intrinsic buffer layer (4) situated on said substrate. A first silicon layer (6) of a first doping type is situated on predetermined regions (4a) of the intrinsic buffer layer. The first layer has interstices (5) between said predetermined regions (4a). The first silicon layer comprises at least partially a microcrystalline layer at its side away from the substrate. A microcrystalline silicon layer (8) of a second doping type is situated on said first silicon layer (6). A third silicon layer (10) of the second doping type is situated on said intrinsic buffer layer at the interstices, the third silicon layer being amorphous at its side facing said silicon-based substrate and comprising an at least partially microcrystalline layer portion to the side away from the intrinsic buffer layer.

Abstract: Method of operating an energy system, said energy system comprising: a local common transmission bus; at least one local energy connected to said bus; at least one local load connected to said bus; an energy store connected to said bus; a controllable interface arranged to exchange energy between said bus and an external distribution network external to said energy system; a controller adapted to control said interface so as to carry out said exchange of energy. According to the invention, the controller defines three modes based on the state of charge of the energy store which determine if, and how, energy is exchanged with the external network so as to optimize self-consumption and to perform ramp-rate reduction and peak shaving as appropriate.

Abstract: A laser source apparatus (100) for generating temporal dissipative cavity solitons (1) comprises an input source-device (10), being configured for providing an input light field (2), and an optical resonator device (20) with a resonator (21) having a third order optical Kerr non-linearity and being coupled with the input source device (10) for generating the cavity solitons (1) by the driving input light field (2), wherein the input source device (10) is configured for providing the input light field (2) as a pulse train of laser pulses (3). Preferably, the pulse repetition rate of the input laser pulses (2) is adapted to the free spectral range of the resonator (21) and the carrier envelope offset frequency of the input laser pulses (2) is adapted to one of the resonant frequencies of the resonator (21). Furthermore, a method of generating temporal dissipative cavity solitons (1) is described.

Abstract: An electronic device including a digital circuit to be compensated and a compensation device for compensating PVT variations of this digital circuit. This compensation device is arranged also for controlling the operating speed of the digital circuit and can also be arranged for equalising a rise time and a fall time of a logic gate including the transistors of the digital circuit. The electronic device implements a first loop, allowing to control the operating speed of the digital circuit by exploiting the same voltage at the compensation terminals of the compensation device and at the terminals at the digital circuit and at a critical path replica module allowing to control the threshold voltages of the respective transistors. The electronic device can implement also a second loop allowing to equalise the rise and fall times of a logic gate including the transistors of the digital circuit.

Abstract: A compensation device for compensating PVT variations of an analog and/or digital circuit. The compensation device includes a transistor having a first terminal, a second terminal, a third terminal, and a fourth terminal allowing to modify a threshold voltage of the transistor. The transistor is configured to be in saturation region. The voltage at the third terminal has a predetermined value and the difference between the voltage at the second terminal and the voltage at the third terminal has a predetermined value. A current generation module is configured to generate a current of a predetermined value. A compensation module is configured to force this current to flow between the first terminal and the third terminal by adjusting the voltage of the fourth terminal.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical system including at least one objective lens (2) for receiving light from an object (1), an array of image forming elements (4) for generating multiple images of the object on an image sensor plane (SP) and a filter (F). The optical system is configured to form a real image of the filter on the array of image forming elements to filter the multiple images of the object, the filter being arranged with respect to the at least one objective lens so that a real image of the filter is formed on the array of image forming elements, and wherein the optical system is configured to be telecentric in the image plane of the filter.

Abstract: Method of manufacturing a micromechanical component intended to cooperate with another micromechanical component, the method comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming a mould on said substrate, said mould defining sidewalls arranged to delimit said micromechanical component, providing particles on at least said sidewalls, depositing a metal in said mould so as to form said micromechanical component, and liberating said micromechanical component from said mould and removing said particles.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for liquid measurements including: —providing a sensor including a surface arranged to receive a liquid thereupon, an electrical heating element arranged to heat the surface, and an arrangement for measuring a temperature of the surface; —receiving liquid on the sensor surface; —heating the surface by means of the electrical heating element at a known rate while taking a plurality of temperature measurements thereof in function of time, the heating being at an absolute temperature of at least 90% of the boiling point of the liquid under ambient pressure; and—deriving a volume or a flow rate measurement related to the liquid from the electrical heating rate and the temperature measurements.

Abstract: An optical combiner including an array of pairs of resonating waveguide gratings. The waveguiding layer of the array, which includes the resonating waveguide gratings, is configured to guide at most ten guided light modes in the visible wavelength range. At least a portion of the resonating waveguide grating array is configured to incouple a portion of incident light on the array and to outcouple a fraction of that incident light. The outcoupled fraction has a predetermined wavelength ? in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range and has a predetermined spectral width ??. The optical combiner is preferably configured to be used in a near-eye display apparatus. The invention is also achieved by a near-eye display apparatus that is adapted to combine projected images provided by a light emitter with light provided by a scene observed by an observer looking through the optical combiner.

Abstract: A method for estimating blood pressure (BP) values comprises: measuring at a first PTT value, a second PTT value, and further PTTref values using a method comprising measuring a first arterial pressure pulse arrival time (PAT) and measuring a second PAT value; calculating a PTT value from the difference between the first PAT value and the second PAT value; processing a sequence of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) images to identify at least one region of interest (ROI); and estimating at least one of the first and second PAT value from the variation of impedance value determined from the at least one ROI. The method allows for the non-invasive and continuous determination of the PB values by using a calibration factor.