Abstract: The present invention provides a process and an apparatus. The process, in one embodiment, includes providing a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device, the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device including an actuator coupled to a movable feature, sacrificial material fixing the actuator and movable feature with respect to one another, and a layer of material located over the actuator, movable feature and sacrificial material. The process may further include removing only a portion of the layer of material to expose the sacrificial material, and subjecting the exposed sacrificial material to an etchant to release the movable feature.

Abstract: A method is provided for supplying service to mobile stations (MS) (20) utilizing a wireless telecommunications network (A). Each of the MS has a home country and a home network and is programmed with an identifier comprising a number including a set of digits. Each identifier is one of two types including a first type of identifier that uniquely identifies its MS globally via the entire set of digits making up the identifier (e.g., a true International Mobile Station Identity (IMSI)) and a second type of identifier that uniquely identifies its MS within its home country via a subset of least significant digits making up the identifier (e.g., a Mobile Identification Number (MIN)-based IMSI).

Abstract: A composition, comprising organic polymer molecules, and organic nonpolymeric molecules, wherein the composition is a semiconducting solid. The composition includes a distribution of crystal domains of the polymer molecules and inter-domain regions between the crystal domains, a concentration of polymer molecules being higher in the crystal domains than in the inter-domain regions, and a concentration of nonpolymeric molecules being higher in the inter-domain regions than in the crystal domains.

Abstract: In a communication network, a user establishes a profile, which is stored on the network. The profile includes a default multimedia greeting and additional greetings, each associated with one or more communication identifiers listed in the profile, e.g., the identifiers are mobile phone numbers of persons who may contact the user. Each greeting is an executable data file configured to play on a mobile phone, computer, or other terminal, and may include audio and changing image multimedia content. In operation, when a calling party calls the user's terminal, the identifier of the calling party's terminal is cross-referenced to the profile. If the identifier is not in the profile, the default greeting is transmitted to the calling party from a network media server. If the identifier is in the profile, the greeting associated with the identifier is transmitted. The greeting is played until the user answers the communication.

Abstract: A server terminal is interconnected with a number of client/peer terminals, as part of a network. For chargeable peer-to-peer file downloads, a client terminal establishes and accesses an account on the server. An information file associated with a data file of interest is obtained by the client from the server. The information file contains the network address of a tracker module. The client terminal accesses the tracker module to obtain the network locations of one or more peer terminals having sections/pieces of the data file stored thereon. The client terminal selects and contacts peer terminals for obtaining the data file sections. The client terminal and/or selected peer terminals securely transmit accounting data, relating to the amount of data transferred, to the tracker module, which forwards it to the server for billing purposes.

Abstract: A process optically transports digital data over an all-optical long-haul communication path. The process includes transporting digital optical data signals at a selected bit rate and a selected wavelength over a sequence of transmission spans. The sequence includes 70 percent or more of the spans of the long-haul all-optical communication path. Each span of the sequence has a primary local maximum optical power point for the wavelength on a transmission fiber and nearest to an input of the span. The transporting causes a cumulative dispersion of each signal to evolve such that residual dispersions per span are positive over some of the spans and are negative over other of the spans. At the primary local maximum power points, magnitudes of cumulative dispersions of the signals in pico seconds per nanometer remain at less than 32,000 times the inverse of the bit rate in giga bits per second.

Abstract: A composition, comprising a medium of organic molecules, a plurality of nanoparticles dispersed in the medium, and a coating chemically bonded to a surface of the nanoparticles, wherein the composition is a semiconducting solid.

Abstract: Multi cast techniques are employed to provide host computer elements access to multiple redundant servers of a communication network in such a way that the hosts need not know which of the servers is active. In one embodiment, the servers provide a gateway function between an Ethernet LAN and an external network. The Ethernet LAN comprises one or more hosts connected to one or more switches, the switches connected to corresponding servers defining an active/standby pair. The servers are connected to an external network by corresponding active/standby links. The hosts send messages directed to a multicast address to at least one of the switches. The switches forward the messages on ports according to a multicast routing topology having been determined by performing IGMP “snooping” of messages issued from the servers. Both the active and standby servers receive the messages; and the active server sends the messages to the external network.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for equalizing a channel using improved channel estimates. The present invention assumes that fading will follow a statistical model and obtains an improved channel estimate using one or more basis functions to describe the channel based on known channel statistics. A Karhunen-Loeve expansion can be used for channel estimation to describe the channel. Waveforms are selected that are matched to characteristics of the channel, such as transmission waveforms whose energy is largely restricted to a bandwidth assigned to the channel. Coefficients are estimated for the basis functions using real-time data.

Abstract: A pointing device is provided for use in computing devices comprising a printed circuit board, a tracking device adapted to generate a tracking signal in response to a user vocal input and relay the tracking signal to the printed circuit board, and a selection device adapted to generate a selection signal in response to a user manipulation and relay the selection signal to the printed circuit board.

Abstract: A multi-channel optical equalizer for intersymbol interference mitigation compensates for single- or multi-wavelength channels simultaneously and requires few adjustable parameters. The optical equalizer also compensates for overshoots and signal transition degradations in semiconductor optical amplifiers. The equalizer unit uses one control signal for magnitude and one to control signal phase. The equalizer includes a controllable coupling ratio coupler for splitting the light into two portions and a controllable interferometer having two arms, one arm having an additional delay which is equal to an integer multiple of 1/?f, where ?f is the channel spacing between adjacent wavelengths utilized in the optical system. The controllable interferometer has a controllable delay in a first or second arm for adjusting the relative phase of the light passing therethrough. A coupler combines the two signal portions from the first and second arms to form the equalized output signal.

Abstract: A data transmission system that detects fiber faults receives a plurality of data packets carried on a plurality of Gigabit Ethernet links at a plurality of Gigabit Ethernet input/output ports. The system then multiplexes, on a bit by bit basis, the data packets onto an optical link. When the system detects a loss of signal in one of the Gigabit Ethernet links, a signal loss code insert is generated. The system then multiplexes the signal loss code insert with the data packets.

Abstract: A method for objective speech quality assessment that accounts for phonetic contents, speaking styles or individual speaker differences by distorting speech signals under speech quality assessment. By using a distorted version of a speech signal, it is possible to compensate for different phonetic contents, different individual speakers and different speaking styles when assessing speech quality. The amount of degradation in the objective speech quality assessment by distorting the speech signal is maintained similarly for different speech signals, especially when the amount of distortion of the distorted version of speech signal is severe. Objective speech quality assessment for the distorted speech signal and the original undistorted speech signal are compared to obtain a speech quality assessment compensated for utterance dependent articulation.

Abstract: A semiconductor waveguide includes a section containing free charge, either electrons or holes, which can be steered into or removed from the path of the beam under the control of electrical signals. The mobile charges come from a potential well which may be either filled or depleted under electrical control. When the well is filled, the charges speed the beam propagation, introducing a phase change. When the well is emptied the beam propagates with extra delay. The phase shifter allows very high speed modulation of the beam using low voltage and low power electronics. The device can be created using standard silicon processing techniques, and integrated with other optical components such as splitters and combiners to create amplitude modulators, attenuators and other optical devices.

Abstract: One or more control components of an apparatus that connect with one or more mobile phones one or more toll-free calls placed by one or more users of one or more communication devices to one or more toll-free numbers associated with the one or more mobile phones.

Abstract: Apparatus including a chip substrate having a first chip surface facing away from a second chip surface; an array of microelectronic elements on the first chip surface; and an array of conductors each in communication with one of the microelectronic elements, the conductors passing through the chip substrate and fully spanning a distance between the first and second chip surfaces.

Abstract: A method of nonlinear polarimetry for measuring higher order moments of the E field of an optical signal is provided. The method includes imposing a phase delay on a first polarization of a received optical signal with respect to a second polarization of the optical signal to produce an intermediate optical signal having a time varying polarization. A polarization of the intermediate optical signal is suppressed. The intermediate optical signal is detected with a plurality of photodetectors, with at least one photodetector configured to be responsive to a nonlinear optical process. Spectra of the photodetector outputs are calculated to determine higher order moments of the E field, and the moments are transformed to obtain the polarization measurement.

Abstract: The present invention provides hierarchical structures of queues and schedulers for switches and routers with, preferably fully-connected, mesh fabrics, for efficiently and properly handling the quality or service requirements of multiple network services, such as ATM and IP, in switch or router. The switches of this invention provide, for example, fair allocation of bandwidths to different network services, to different QoS classes within network services, and to different resources within the switch by use of, preferably, weighted, fair scheduling methods. The switches and routers of this invention are particularly directed to multi-protocol, high-throughput communication application, but may have wide applicability in systems generally where data packets are switched or routed.

Abstract: In the method, information from a user is transmitted over one or more communication channels of a wireless communication system by code multiplexing transmissions in the code domain. The method may include code multiplexing a first information from the user over a first channel with a second information from the user over a second channel, and determining a transmission format for the first and second channels. The transmission format may be determined based on one or more of available transmit power, transmission time interval, a coding dimension used for multiplexing, and transmit power used per code. The first information and second information are transmitted over the respective channels based on the determined transmission format.

Abstract: A method for managing a communications network comprising a plurality of nodes by representing the network as a plurality of areas comprising respective portions of the plurality of nodes, each of the areas coupled to at least one other area via a bridge comprising at least one communications link the representations used to provide imagery for a graphical user interface (GUI).