Abstract: A laser test probe is configured to include an electronic probe and a pair of optical fibers. The electronic probe is a high speed transmission line that is used to provide the required bias signal, as well as an RF test signal, to a laser being tested. The optical fibers are used to capture the optical output signals from the front and rear faces of the laser. These optical signals are then analyzed by a measurement control unit to assess the performance of the device under test. In its most basic embodiment, the test probe can be used to identify lasers that exhibit an insufficient (in the extreme, non-existent) optical output signal.

Abstract: A communications cable anchoring member for use in a strain relief connector assembly is a compression ring which has an elongated body with front and rear faces and an axial bore extending between the faces. The bore forms a peripheral wall with the exterior of the body in which is an array of slots extending part of the distance between the faces. Alternate slots extend from opposite faces of the body. The exterior surface of the body is tapered to fit within the tapered bore of a strain relief plug of the connector, and latching members on the exterior surface latch the ring body to the plug.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for providing scalable layers of highly available applications using loosely coupled commercially available computers. The software running on the loosely coupled computers is divided into three layers: the system layer, the platform layer, and the application layer, each having its own process group activation and fault recovery strategy. A process group contains software processes that depend upon a set of resources common to the process group. In addition to depending upon a common set of resources, processes within a process group share a fault recovery strategy. Fault recovery is performed at the process group level, such that if one process within a process group fails, fault recovery is takes place for all processes within the process group. In the preferred embodiment, an application layer process group may be paired with another application layer process group on a separate computer.

Abstract: A DC--DC converter includes a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding. The secondary winding includes first and second terminals. An input circuit is connected to the primary winding for coupling an input DC voltage to the primary winding. A first output channel is connected to the first terminal of the secondary winding, and is connected to a first output. The first channel includes a first switch connected in series with a first inductor. A second output channel is connected to the second terminal of the secondary winding, and is connected to a second output. A first and a second capacitor connect the first and second outputs to a return lead. A second switch connects the first output channel to the return lead. A third switch connects the second output channel to the return lead. A pulse width modulator is connected between one of the outputs to drive the input circuit.

Abstract: An optical module is disclosed wherein the thermal stress induced therein is substantially minimized so as to reduce the interference with the alignment of the optical component(s) enclosed therein. The optical module includes a housing having an assembly platform and sidewalls joined by brazing or soldering. However, because of mechanical, electrical and thermal considerations, the sidewalls and assembly platform are usually made of dissimilar materials. In one embodiment, the optical module includes an assembly platform made of a Cu--W composite, and sidewalls made of Kovar.RTM.. Although nonlinear, the thermal expansion of Kovar.RTM. is substantially linear away from its Curie temperature, with the slope proportional to the thermal expansion coefficient. On the other hand, the thermal expansion profile of Cu--W is substantially linear, with the thermal expansion coefficient determined by the ratio of Cu to W.

Abstract: A double sided insulation displacement type connector block contains oppositely facing, electrically connected arrays of insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) on both sides of the connector block. The connectors may be punch down or tool-less type IDCs. When tool-less IDCs are utilized, the double sided terminal block may also include double sided insulation displacement terminal strips with a reversible test feature.

Abstract: A PCS switching system and wireless set that allow the wireless set to control the processing of incoming calls regardless of whether the base station on which the wireless set is registered has capacity to complete a call to the wireless set. When an incoming call is received for a wireless set, a central computer providing overall control of the PCS system directs this call to a paging zone controller of a paging zone in which the wireless set is registered on a base station. If the base station does not have capacity to handle that call, the paging zone controller transmits a page pending message via the base station and a paging channel to the wireless set informing the wireless set that a page is pending and that the wireless set must find a base station with idle capacity.

Abstract: A method for preparing operative end faces of integrated circuit chips or dies utilizes a beveled cutting blade to impart a desired contact angle to the operative end faces of the chip. The method includes the steps of mounting feet on the chip, trimming the feet where necessary, mounting the chip on a fixture with tape, cutting the end faces, and removing the chip from the fixture.

Abstract: The intelligent alarm system of the present invention provides a reliable, low cost system for alerting a user to the presence of snow outside of a building. The system includes a sensor and an intelligent alarm clock for use inside a building or dwelling. The system can be set by a user to signal an alarm a programmable amount of time earlier or later than the user's normal waking time if an accumulation of snow is detected. The system is capable of processing preprogrammed data, user entered data and data accumulated from the sensor to determine whether a true snow condition exists and to generate an appropriate alarm signal.

Abstract: A modularly-partitioned feedforward multicarrier linear RF power amplifier is described. The circuitry and components of the power amplifier are segregated into physically-separate modules in accordance with several criteria. In one embodiment, the power amplifier is segregated into a RF power module, a linearizer module and a DC power supply module. The RF power module includes power- and frequency-dependent components and generally varies with the carrier frequency and output power requirements for a specific application. The linearizer module includes circuitry and components that are substantially power- and frequency-independent. As such, the linearizer module is substantially invariant and a single design may be used for virtually any application. The DC power supply module includes circuit and components that are substantially frequency independent but somewhat power dependent.

Abstract: An optoelectronic device, such as an electro-absorption modulator laser (EML), is configured to a submount using an asymmetric inductive peaking scheme in which a first wire connects a modulator signal electrode on the submount to the modulator contact pad on the device and a second wire connects the modulator contact pad to an integrated resistor on the submount, where the first and second wires have substantially different inductances. Such asymmetric inductive peaking improves the high-frequency performance of the resulting packaged device by providing a higher transmission coefficient and a lower return loss at high frequencies than devices configured using conventional symmetric inductive peaking in which the inductances of the two connecting wires are purposely designed to be equal. In one embodiment, in which the device will be modulated by a standard 50-ohm electrical signal generator, the integrated resistor is a 50-ohm device, the first wire is kept as short as practicable (e.g., about 0.

Abstract: A communications system achieves high bit rates over an actual communications channel between M transmitter antennas of a first unit and N receiver antennas of a second unit, where M or N>1, by creating virtual sub-channels from the actual communications channel. The multiple antenna system creates the virtual sub-channels from the actual communications channel by using propagation information characterizing the actual communications channel at the first and second units. For transmissions from the first unit to the second unit, the first unit sends a virtual transmitted signal over at least a subset of the virtual sub-channels using at least a portion of the propagation information. The second unit retrieves a corresponding virtual received signal from the same set of virtual sub-channels using at least another portion of said propagation information.

Abstract: A test fixture that exhibits relatively low parasitic impedance and inductance characteristics (thereby allowing for high speed --several GHz testing) while capable of high volume testing. The fixture utilizes a high dielectric test substrate with gold test leads for best performance. A two-piece test fixture is aligned with and attached to the substrate, with a layer of vertically conductive material disposed between the substrate and the fixture. A first component of the two-piece test fixture include a central aperture for holding the test package in alignment with the leads formed on the test substrate. A second component of the two-piece test fixture covers the package and exerts a predetermined force on the package leads, thereby inducing conductivity through the vertically conductive material and forming a conduction path from the substrate to the package leads.

Abstract: A selectable compatibility jack has at least a partially hollow housing member or jack frame and a plurality of spring contact members extending from the rear portion thereof to the connector end. The housing has a front face with an opening therein configured to receive a plug. A movable circuit member is contained in the housing for translational movement, the circuit member having circuit components on a surface thereof that is contacted by the spring contact members. Actuator means for moving the circuit member from a first position to a second position is mounted to the circuit member and adapted to be actuated when a low performance plug is inserted in the jack to cause the spring contact members to contact certain ones of the circuit elements. The opening in the front face has clearance slots providing clearance for a high performance plug when inserted into the jack.

Abstract: A facility is provided for establishing a relatively low-speed path from a user desiring to access the well-known Internet and establishing a high-speed path from the Internet to the user so that the data speed accommodates both the user's requests and a response from an Internet web/host site. Moreover, a user may be mobile, in which case the low-speed path is a conventional wireless path. In most cases, a predetermined spectrum of frequencies, such as one or more television channels, is used as the high-speed path from Internet.

Abstract: In a routing system where a router interconnects circuit components with conduction paths, a crosstalk analyzer is employed to audit the electrical crosstalk incurred in coupled path segments during the interconnection. The resulting crosstalk measures are compared with one or more acceptable crosstalk limits. If the measures exceed any limits, the unsatisfactory condition is fed back to the router, along with information on suggested re-arrangements of the segments. In response to this feedback, the router modifies the routed interconnections to reduce the crosstalk level.

Abstract: The present invention provides a unique polishing apparatus, such as a chemical/mechanical polishing apparatus, that includes a pivoting apparatus having a first end coupled to a carrier head and a second end coupled to a rotatable shaft wherein the pivoting apparatus is configured to exert a pivoting force with respect to the carrier head to pivot the carrier head with respect to the rotatable shaft to more easily break the surface tension formed by the slurry during the polishing process. This system provides a polishing apparatus that can reduce the amount of semiconductor wafer breakage associated with present processes and apparatus.

Abstract: A method for establishing and maintaining data communication between communication devices including at least one sender communication device and a receiving communication device of a multicast group which are interconnected by a communications network of switching nodes that involves determining when there is a change in the state of the multicast group. The receiving communication device normally maintains a resource reservation in response to data being substantially continuously received at the switching nodes unless there is a change in the state of the multicast group. Upon determination of the state change in the multicast group, the inventive method changes the resource reservation even while data is being continually received at the switching nodes.

Abstract: A method for making a circuit device having at least one peripheral interconnect for electrically connecting the device to another circuit device on a motherboard, includes forming at least one opening in a substrate, the opening having an inner surface extending between first and second major surfaces of the substrate. The inner surface of the opening and portions of the major surfaces adjacent the opening are coated with electrically conductive material. Electrically conductive material is removed from opposing regions of the inner surface of the opening prior to plating and then, after plating, the substrate is cut in a line extending across opposing regions to expose the coated and plated inner surface as the peripheral electrical interconnect. The method produces interconnects with reduced contamination by conductive particulates.

Abstract: The specification describes lightwave systems with remotely powered photoelectric generators. Optical power transmitted through the fiber is incident on a remotely located photodiode array. High power conversion efficiency coupled with a specially designed diode array generates sufficient power to operate electromechanical or electrooptic apparatus in the remote station. Long wavelength photodiodes in a circular or polygonal circularly symmetric array are serially connected to increase the voltage to practical operating levels. The photodiodes are fabricated to allow back lighting of the array. The bottom contact layer is made transparent to the wavelength of the power signal. This arrangement allows the contact area to extend over the entire front surface of the diode to reduce contact resistance. It also gives nearly optimum fill factor. The front surface may be metallized so the incident light undergoes a double pass through the absorbing layer.