Abstract: The present invention relates to a liquid crystal alignment layer used in a liquid crystal cell, which is capable of providing high pretilt angles.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method of digital signal compression, coding and representation, and more particularly a method of video compression, coding and representation system that uses multi-frame motion estimation and includes both device and method aspects. The invention also provides a computer program product, such as a recording medium, carrying program instructions readable by a computing device to cause the computing device to carry out a method according to the invention.

Abstract: A metal induced lateral crystallization (MILC) poly-silicon material is produced by depositing a metal in a predefined pattern on amorphous silicon, and heat treating the silicon at a first temperature to form a MILC poly-Si material. The MILC poly-Si material is further heat treated at a second temperature higher than the first temperature to induce recrystallization. The second high temperature recrystallization step significantly enhances the material structure, and in particular the grain structure, of the poly-Si material with substantial benefits to the performance of semiconductor devices made therefrom.

Abstract: A method for limiting the transmission of light through a material is disclosed. In the method, a layer composed of a hyperbranched polymer formed via a copolycyclotrimerization reaction is interposed between a light source and the material. Also provided is a method for emitting light comprising exciting the hyperbranched polymer. In addition, methods for limiting the transmission of light and for emitting light using hyperbranched polymers formed by homopolycyclotrimerization reactions are disclosed. A new class of hyperbranched polymers produced by copolycyclotrimerization is also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to color liquid crystal displays without the use of color filters. By using vertically aligned liquid crystal display cells, it is possible to obtain vivid colors from the display as a function of the operating voltage, with a bright background that can be gray or colored.

Abstract: The present invention relates to color liquid crystal displays without the use of color filters. By using vertically aligned liquid crystal display cells, it is possible to obtain vivid colors from the display as a function of the operating voltage, with a bright background that can be gray or colored.

Abstract: The present invention relates to color liquid crystal displays without the use of color filters. By carefully choosing the design parameters of a liquid crystal display, it is possible to obtain vivid colors from the display as a function of the operating voltage.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming metal-induced laterally crystallized polysilicon in which the metal residue is reduced. A first low temperature lateral crystallization is performed using a metal crystallization-inducing agent such as nickel or a nickel compound. A second lateral crystallization is then carried out which may be either a low-temperature crystallization using metal residue from the first crystallization as the metal crystallization-inducing agent, or may be a high temperature crystallization that does not require a metal.

Abstract: A compact integrated antenna device is described which has two feed ports. The antenna device has a Y-shaped transmission plate spaced from a parallel grounded plate, and the feed ports are connected to the transmission plate at locations on the transmission plate which are on different branches of the Y-shape. The antenna device can be utilized in compact wireless communication handsets to provide diversity signals or act as a duplexer allowing the receive and transmit signals to be mutually isolated.

Abstract: There is a disclosed an oscillator for generating a periodic signal, comprising a transistor and two electro-magnetically coupled inductors in positive feedback configuration, one of the inductors is connected to the drain or gate of the transistor, and the other being connected to the source to maintain the same phase of the two voltages at the two nodes. Two or more of such single ended oscillators can be connected together to form a differential oscillator, and the invention can be generalized by the use of any active device and not just transistors.

Abstract: There is described an electrorheological fluid comprising particles of a composite material suspended in an electrically insulating hydrophobic liquid. The composite particles are metal salts of the form M1xM22-2xTiO(C2O4)2 where M1 is selected from the group consisting of Ba, Sr and Ca and wherein M2 is selected from the group consisting of Rb, Li, Na and K, and the composite particles further include a promoter selected from the group consisting of urea, butyramide and acetamide.

Abstract: This invention provides a method and apparatus for driving bistable cholesteric liquid crystal displays. The method and apparatus provided a display in which all the pixels are initially driven to the P state. Selected pixels for the display are then driven to the FC state to provide the desired message. The state of the pixels is then maintained for a viewing period prior to any resetting of the display to the P state. The switching from the P state to the FC state allows faster addressing times and lower voltages to be used in driving the display.

Abstract: A method for the fine-pitch stencil mask design for stencil printing bumping technology for eutectic Sn/Pb and lead-free solder material is described. In the method, a reflowing enhancement layer is introduced to improve the solder quality and reduce the pitch of solder bumps. The method of forming the layer is described as well as the forming method of matching under-bump metallurgy layer. The method of stencil mask design can match various sizes and pitch of the solder bumps. The designed mask is fixed on the stencil printer to deposit the solder materials with the required patterns. This method can increase the solder paste volume to increase the height of solder bumps after the reflowing process.

Abstract: A series of improved processes and methods to manufacture solder bumps on the wafer which shrink the space among solder bumps and reduce the cost of manufacturing. A design method and a relevant manufacturing process are introduced to form an organic material or metal material layer, which is called a Bump-Reflow-Control Layer. The pad patterns can be defined by this method. A mechanical part is designed with a hermetic cover to improve the photoresist process. The series of photolithography process including the designing method of related photolithography mask is introduced to achieve the high quality and thick photoresist.

Abstract: A method is described for treating fabrics, yarns and individual fibers to improve the mechanical properties thereof, for example their wrinkle-resistance, by treating the fabric, yarn, and fibers in a solution containing nanoparticles. The nanoparticles include two sizes of particles and b appropriate selection of the nanoparticles the degree and mode of cross-linking in the fabric can be controlled with corresponding control of the mechanical properties.

Abstract: A device or method for video compression uses a technique in which changes in the image are encoded by motions of block of the image and signals indicating evolutions in the block. To determine the motions of the blocks of a each frame, a search is performed for a similar block of a previous frame based on points of the previous frame which are arranged in successive diamond shaped zones. The diamond shaped zones may be centred on the position of the block in previous frame, or one or more predicted motions of the block. The method terminates according to criteria defined using thresholds.

Abstract: An anti-fouling agent derived by culturing Vibrio alginolyticus in an aqueous solution suitable for growth thereof is described. The anti-fouling agent is produced and secreted by Vibrio alginolyticus, which can then be used as a component to produce other anti-fouling compositions. Depending on the use, the anti-fouling agent derived from V. alginolyticus may be used directly, or subject to further purification. A newly isolated strain of V. alginolyticus (DSM 15590) is also disclosed.

Abstract: A frequency divider circuit is disclosed that generates output signals having a frequency substantially half of the frequency of the input signal. The circuit comprises two D-Flip-Flop circuits wherein one employs the said input signal and the other one employs the complement of the said input signal, and each of the two D-Flip-Flop circuits consists of a pair of loading transistors, two regenerative pairs coupled with each others, and two common-gate switches.

Abstract: There are disclosed three fast rate control methods that can efficiently reduce or remove the computation and memory usage redundancy over conventional PCRD methods. The first method, called successive bit-plane rate allocation (SBRA), assigns the maximum allowable bit-rate for each bit-plane of each code-block by using the currently available rate-distortion information only. The second method is called priority scanning rate allocation (PSRA). This first predicts the order of magnitude of each truncation point's rate-distortion slope and then encodes the truncation points based on the order (priority) information. The third method uses PSRA to obtain a significantly smaller amount of data than PCRD for optimal truncation and is called priority scanning with optimal truncation (PSOT). SBRA provides the highest computational complexity and memory usage reduction, and the lowest coding/transmission delay. The computational complexity reduction can be up to about 90% of the entropy coding process.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for single-inductor multiple-output switching converter design. With the proposed freewheel switching control, this converter operates in a pseudo-continuous conduction mode (PCCM) and is capable of handling large load currents with a much smaller current ripple and peak inductor current, while retaining low cross regulation. It can also work in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) for high efficiency at light loads. This design can be applied to have single or multiple outputs and for different types of DC-DC conversions.