Abstract: Semiconductor apparatus comprising: a dielectric layer comprising a surface, a portion of the surface having exposed aromatic groups; and a polycrystalline semiconductor layer comprising an organic semiconductor composition overlying and in contact with the portion of the surface, the organic semiconductor composition comprising a compound comprising a chain-like moiety, the chain-like moiety comprising a conjugated thiophene or phenyl group and comprising alkyl chains at ends of the chain-like moiety. Devices comprising semiconductor apparatus, methods for making semiconductor apparatus, and methods for making devices.

Abstract: An improved optical communication system is provided, the system particularly suited for so-called short-haul applications, e.g., applications involving transmission over distances less than 100 km, such as metro applications. The system uses an external cavity laser made up of a gain medium that comprises an active region, a beam expanding region, and an antireflective layer, an optical waveguide located adjacent the gain medium, and a Bragg grating integral with or coupled to the optical waveguide. The medium and the optical waveguide, due to the beam expanding region, exhibit a coupling efficiency of at least 40%, advantageously at least 50%, even in the absence of coupling optics, and the laser is configured and operated to emit at least two modes.

Abstract: A method for evaluating capacity utilization of a terminus in a communication system where the terminus has a maximum capacity and accommodates a plurality of communication lines in coupled relationship with the terminus, includes the steps of: (a) identifying the plurality of communication lines; each respective line has a respective line speed and a respective character-type that is one character-type of a plurality of character-types extant in the communication system; (b) identifying the respective line speed and the respective character-type for each respective line; (c) determining type line speed contribution by respective lines having a particular the respective character-type; (d) summing the type line speed contribution by all the respective character-types to determine a total line speed contribution for all of the plurality of lines; and (e) comparing the total line speed contribution with the maximum capacity to effect the evaluating.

Abstract: The location of a mobile wireless communication unit in the service area of a CDMA communications system is predicted utilizing two likelihood functions that define maximum likelihood estimators of the mobile unit's location, based on attribute measurements, such as but not limited to pilot signal strength, being made at the location of the mobile unit and reported back to a base station. One of the likelihood functions comprises a frequentist likelihood function and the other comprises a Bayesian-modified likelihood function. The likelihood functions are based on the assumption that there is an RF model which provides the probability a mobile unit is able to detect one or more attributes associated with an arbitrary base station, given it is located at an arbitrary location within the service area. Each of the likelihoods are also incorporated into a sequential Bayesian procedure which outputs a posterior distribution indicative of the location of the mobile unit.

Abstract: In a MIMO system the signals transmitted from the various antennas are processed so as to improve the ability of the receiver to extract them from the received signal even in the face of some correlation. More specifically the number of bit streams that is transmitted simultaneously is adjusted, e.g., reduced, depending on the level of correlation, while multiple versions of each bit stream, variously weighted, are transmitted simultaneously. The variously weighted versions are combined to produced one combined weighted signal. The receiver processes the received signals in the same manner as it would have had all the signals reaching the receive antennas been uncorrelated.

Abstract: A power attenuator with at least one coupling port. The coupling port may be provided to monitor input power levels, out put power levels, or other operations of the power attenuator. One or more coupling ports may be located on the power attenuator input part to monitor input power levels and/or on the power attenuator output part to monitor output power levels. The coupling port(s) may be coupled to the main RF path by resistive coupling or reactive coupling. The coupling port(s) allow monitoring of the RF signal passing through the power attenuator to detect for incipient failures.

Abstract: A MEMS device employed in an optical switch has a position sensor configured to determine mirror orientation in the device. The position sensor includes at least one light sensor located under an etch gap defining the mirror in the switch. Change of light intensity at each light sensor due to the change in separation corresponding to the etch gap during mirror motion is measured and related to the mirror deflection angle. Information about the angle may be used to provide feedback to the motion actuator, which then may be operated to orient the mirror more accurately.

Abstract: In a database, a database manager can generate a view, which, in concept, is a subset of the database, which is placed outside the database for use without disturbing the database, and without disturbance by others using the database. The subset, or view, can be understood as a collection of rows, or tuples, of data copied from the database. With views existing, multiple copies of data within the database now exist: the original in the database, and copies in the views. If one of these is changed, without corresponding changes made in the others, then inconsistencies occur, which cannot be tolerated. Under the invention, when a user seeks a lock on a view, indicating that a change may be imminent, the invention locks a superset of the tuples in the database from which the view is derived. A superset is a set which contains the set of tuples of the view, plus possibly others. Thus, more tuples are locked than strictly necessary. The excess locking is tolerated because other benefits are obtained.

Abstract: The possibility of incompatibility between wireless communication system stations having the most recent protocol revisions is addressed by transmitting from the base station to a mobile station characteristics that identify a mobile station group that is restricted to using less than the most recent protocol revision. Using less than the most recent protocol revision may involve using an earlier revision or a subset of the most current protocol revision. This permits a base station to direct mobiles to avoid using protocol revisions or features of protocol revisions that have been insufficiently tested or that have a history of problems for a particular base station/mobile station combination.

Abstract: A method and geometry for reducing drift in an electrostatically actuated device, the electrostatically actuated device including a dielectric material, for insulating conducting sections from a ground, the conducting sections being used to generate an electric field for controlling thereby the electrostatically actuated device includes, configuring a geometry of the dielectric material such that the electric field applied to exposed dielectric material comprises a substantially homogeneous electric field.

Abstract: A hashing-based router and method for network load balancing includes calculating a hash value from header data of incoming data packets and routing incoming packets based on the calculated hash values to permissible output links in desired loading proportions.

Abstract: Systems and methods for provisioning QoS paths with restoration in a network. In one embodiment, one system includes: (1) a primary path generator configured to identify a suitable primary path between source and destination nodes in a network, (2) an auxiliary graph generator, associated with the primary path generator, configured to construct a directed auxiliary graph from an undirected graph representing the network by reversing each link in a primary QoS path of the undirected graph and replacing each other link in the undirected graph by two directed links, (3) a walk identifier, associated with the auxiliary graph generator, configured to identify a walk in the auxiliary directed graph corresponding to a set of bridges in the network and (4) a bridge identifier, associated with the walk identifier, configured to identify a set of bridges in the network such that at least one link of the primary path is protected by a bridge.

Abstract: A radiation source location technique includes focusing a plurality of receivers (i.e., antennas) at the same location. At least one determined characteristic of the radiation received at each receiver provides information regarding the source of that radiation relative to each receiver. Determining a relationship between the determined characteristics allows for determining when the source of radiation is at the location where the receivers are focused. One example includes using high directivity, narrow beamwidth antennas and time based markers from a wireless digital communication signal for locating a mobile unit source of radiation.

Abstract: Software defined radios necessitate the routing of analog wireless signals between data links via a software circuit switching router implemented in a processor. Processor utilization by the software router is decreased by disabling the interrupts of all but one analog channel per communication link, this channel being termed the Anchor channel for its link. Data from all channels in the link is transferred during the Anchor link's interrupt. The increase in the Anchor channel's interrupt latency due to transferring data from other channels is more than offset by the overall reduction in the number of processor interrupts generated. As a result, utilization of the processor by the software router is reduced, allowing the processor to manage other time-critical tasks and/or a greater number of tasks in a given time period.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for characterizing an optical pulse using a reduced complexity chronocyclic tomography is described. In one example, an optical pulse train is modulated using quadratic temporal phase modulation. A first spectral intensity of the optical pulse train is measured after a quadratic temporal phase modulation having a first amplitude. A second spectral intensity of the train of optical pulses is then measured in response to the quadratic temporal phase modulation having a second amplitude. At least one of the group delay and the spectral intensity associated with the train of optical pulses is computed using the first spectral intensity and the second spectral intensity.

Abstract: A system and method for determining a cause of a network problem between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, is disclosed. Generally, a first computer is utilized comprising a transceiver, software stored within the first computer defining functions to be performed, and a processor configured by the software to perform the steps of: associating a received error message with an error identification number; and associating the error identification number with a root cause proximity value, wherein the root cause proximity value represents a relationship between the received error message and an actual cause of the network problem.

Abstract: A method fabricates ICs in which organic semiconductor crystallites serve as active channels of semiconductor devices. The method includes providing a substrate with a surface that has a preselected pattern of adhesion sites located thereon. The adhesion sites are prepared to adhere crystallites of an organic semiconductor. The method also includes applying a plurality of crystallites of the organic semiconductor to the surface to enable a portion of the applied crystallites to adhere at the prepared adhesion sites.

Abstract: Clients that are connected on a private network and which are assigned a private IP address that is not routable on the Internet can connect to the Internet through a router/server that includes a network address translator (NAT). For outgoing packets, the NAT translates the client's private source IP address and generalized port number (GPN) to the NAT's global IP address and GPN. For incoming packets sent to the NAT's global IP address and GPN, the NAT translates the global destination IP address and GPN to the client's private IP address and GPN. For protocols which cannot be directly supported by the NAT, such as those in the IPSec security protocol suite, the NAT is extended by creating in the NAT's translation table an entry that associates, for a specific unsupported protocol, a client's private IP address and GPN, the NAT's global IP address and GPN, and a foreign address on the Internet, that is valid until a specified or default expiration time.

Abstract: An improved method is disclosed for the encoding phase for Wavelet-based compression of digital data representing an object or image. Subband decomposition transforms the data into hierarchical tree data. Two terms are precomputed: the highest bit-plane in which any descendant of a node v has a non-zero bit (B1(v) and the highest bit-plane in which any indirect descendant (grandchild and beyond) becomes significant (B2(v). Node traversal is initiated but its extent is limited by a fixed bit-budget. The number of bits emitted by a node as a function of the bit-plane are counted through to the last bit-plane which exhausts the bit-budget. The user can predetermine the coefficient, bit-plane and specific bit at which the algorithm will halt. The tree structure is read only once, thus greatly accelereating the encoding and reducing the memory reference rate by a factor of 2 or more.

Abstract: Techniques and systems for design of optical switch arrays so as to minimize power requirements are described. A design system includes a computer system hosting a design program. The design program receives parameters for the switch array, including a number N of outputs required, and either a maximum number L of stages allowed or maximum and average power requirements allowed. If power requirements are used as parameters, the design program uses N and the power requirements to compute the value of L. The design program then constructs a minimum power sequence of L switches or N switches, whichever is less. If N is less than L+1, N outputs are present and the array is complete. If N is greater than L+1, the design program then adds switches one at a time to the minimum power switch path of the array, until the array provides N outputs.