Abstract: A method for providing point-of-sale (POS) payment using interactive television (ITV) or the world wide web (WWW) by directly debiting a customer's bank account through electronic transfer of funds or by billing a customer's credit card account. The customer places an order for products or services on his ITV station, or through the WWW from his personal computer, and can make POS payment either by authorizing direct debit from his bank account or by authorizing a charge to his credit card account. The customer's debit and credit account information is collected by swiping the customer's debit or credit card through a magnetic stripe reader at the customer's location at the moment of sale.

Abstract: A semiconductor optical device is formed to include a substrate-side dielectric barrier layer in the area where the substrate and facet meet. The dielectric is deposited on the substrate surface prior to cleaving of the facet and results in reducing the defects along the facet. The dielectric material also serves as a substrate-side "anchor" for the dielectric deposited on the facet, reducing the incidence of delamination of the dielectric coating from the facet.

Abstract: A CMOS high voltage drive output buffer that protects the drive stage from seeing relatively high voltages (e.g., 5 V) during "hot pluggable" conditions (that is, when the reference voltage VDD is not present). A transmission gate and clamping transistors are disposed around the output devices to provide the requisite protection. A backgate bias generator for use with P-channel devices is also disclosed that is capable of withstanding "hot pluggable" conditions.

Abstract: Crochralski wafers are desirably thermally processed at an elevated temperature prior to integrated circuit fabrication. The thermal processing reduces the number of oxygen nucleation centers and prevents subsequent oxygen precipitation from interfering with iron contamination measurements.

Abstract: A telecommunications system capable of transmitting an N byte packet over a common communications channel by: temporally dividing the common communications channel into time slots that have a duration equal to ##EQU1## seconds, where i is a natural number greater than one, C is a constant and R is the transmission rate of the common communications channel in bytes per second; splitting the N byte packet into i p-packets; preparing an M byte training sequence; and transmitting the M byte training sequence and the p-packets over the common communications channel in consecutive time slots.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure having a temperature sensor placed in close proximity to gate and source and/or drain electrodes. The sensor is compatible with conventional semiconductor processing and is typically made from doped polysilicon having a large temperature coefficient of resistivity. At least one sensor may be placed under, but insulated from, source or drain electrodes to protect against high electric fields. The sensor is also compatible with bipolar semiconductor structures.

Abstract: An optical tap is disclosed that may be utilized with bulk optic devices. The optical tap utilizes any pre-existing reflected optical signal that is present in the conventional bulk optic device. The tap includes a beveled fiber stub that is inserted in the path of the reflected optical signal and thus captures this reflected signal, where the bevel is utilized to allow for the reflected signal to be re-directed through the fiber stub. A convention photodetector is coupled to the fiber stub and used to generate an electrical control signal from the captured reflected optical signal.

Abstract: A switching element according to this invention comprises a photostrictive member. Exposing the member to control light results in a dimensional change in the material. This change is utilized for changing the relative position between an optical fiber and another element, exemplarily a further fiber, a corrugated member, or a mirror, such that signal radiation is directed to a predetermined output port. A variety of exemplary switching elements are disclosed, including interferometric, beam-steering, evanescent field and mode conversion switching elements. Disclosed are also optical communication systems that utilize such switching elements, including passive optical networks.

Abstract: A two-way wireless messaging system has a messaging network, and a two-way messaging device that originates, receives and replies to messages having dynamic message components to and from the messaging network. A transaction server is located within the messaging network for opening and tracking messages among various users of the two-way messaging system, and closing a transaction to prevent further message delivery and replies after a predetermined transaction is completed. A transaction can remain open until a reply has been received by every intended message recipient; until a desired number of message recipient received a message; or until a specified amount of time has expired.

Abstract: An all-optical-loop buffer (100) that restores the extinction ratio of the buffered signal such as an ATM cell. The buffer takes advantage of the cross-gain compression and wavelength shifting effected by semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs 118, 132). A received signal (.lambda..sub.1) is coupled (104) to the buffer loop (101), amplified (110), and combined (114) with a low-energy unmodulated second signal (116) at a different wavelength (.lambda..sub.2). The combined signal is amplified by an SOA (118) to modulate the second signal with an inverse of the modulation of the first signal. The received signal is extracted (128) from the SOA's output and attenuated (126). The modulated second signal is extracted (124) from the SOA's output, amplified (122), and combined (130) with the extracted received signal.

Abstract: In a communication network where a communication load imbalance is detected, the overburdened channels in the network are labeled congested to deter new-coming terminals from accessing such channels. In addition, messages are sent to selected terminals on the congested channels, commanding them to relocate from such channels to other uncongested channels. As a result, the load imbalance in the network is effectively reduced.

Abstract: A battery charging system for cellular telephones or other portable devices is incorporated into a clock radio. A user is enabled to specify a time-of-day at which s/he wants to be reminded to insert the rechargeable battery into the charging system if re-charging is needed. No alarm is generated if the battery is already in the charging system at the appointed time. A low power radio frequency signal attempts to interrogate the portable device on the assumption that it is within radio range at that time so as to determine the current battery charge status at about the time that the alarm would be generated. If the charging system receives a return signal from the portable device which indicates, or from which it can be determined, that charging is not needed, then the alarm is not generated after all. Otherwise, the alarm is, in fact generated.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include a method and arrangement of integrated circuit components for enhancing the integrity of communication signals transmitted through a multi-device communication system. Embodiments of the invention provide controllable impedance arrangements for coupling to one or more integrated circuit components coupled along a bus transmission line within the communications system. The coupled impedance arrangements establish damping impedances for selected devices between the signal transmitting component and the signal receiving component along the bus transmission line to advantageously reduce distortion and ringing associated with the LC parasitic network behavior of the devices. Typically, a damping impedance is coupled to the integrated circuit component immediately adjacent to the signal transmitting component along the bus transmission line between the signal transmitting component and the signal receiving component.

Abstract: A speech compression system called "Transform Predictive Coding", or TPC, provides for encoding 7 kHz wideband speech (16 kHz sampling) at a target bit-rate range of 16 to 32 kb/s (1 to 2 bits/sample). The system uses short-term and long-term prediction to remove the redundancy in speech. A prediction residual is transformed and coded in the frequency domain to take advantage of knowledge in human auditory perception. The TPC coder uses only open-loop quantization and therefore has a fairly low complexity. The speech quality of TPC is essentially transparent at 32 kb/s, very good at 24 kb/s, and acceptable at 16 kb/s.

Abstract: The invention strengthens authentication protocols by making it more difficult for handset impersonators to gain system access using replay attacks. This goal is accomplished using challenge codes as a parameter for determining authentication codes, whereby different challenge codes cause different authentication codes to be generated. In one embodiment, the challenge codes are functions of challenge types (e.g., global or unique challenges) and/or handset states (e.g., call origination, page response, registration, idle, and SSD-A update). This embodiment prevents handset impersonators from successfully utilizing replay attacks to impersonate a legitimate handset if the legitimate handset is in a different state than the handset impersonator, or if the legitimate handset is responding to a different challenge type than the handset impersonator.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for aligning optical beams from a source to a destination. The apparatus comprises a first pair of cylindrical lenses comprised of a first cylindrical lens and a second cylindrical lens. The first and second cylindrical lenses are adapted to slide up and down or back and forth along first and second line segments. The first and second line segments can be parallel to each other. A second pair of cylindrical lenses is disclosed comprised of a third cylindrical lens and a fourth cylindrical lens. The third and fourth cylindrical lens are adapted to slide up and down or back and forth along a third and fourth line segments. The first, second, third, and fourth line segments can be parallel to each other. The first, second, third, and fourth cylindrical lenses can adapted to slide between an optical source and an optical destination. The first and second cylindrical lenses, and the third and fourth lenses respectively can be closely adjacent one another.

Abstract: An improved wavelength tunable transmitter comprises a waveguide grating router coupled to a truncated Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator. Light from the second order Brillouin zones of a waveguide grating router having substantially the same phase are captured and coupled to first and second transmission paths comprising the truncated Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the transmission paths then being altered relative to each other and recombined to produce a modulated output signal. With this configuration, a compact tunable transmitter is provided exhibiting bandwidth and chirp control features comparable with those of a traditional Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

Abstract: A passive liquid crystal display is enhanced by selectively applying low frequency signals to the columns of electrodes on the substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal, selectively applying high frequency signals to the rows of the electrodes so the first and second signals activate the liquid crystal at selected ones of said rows and columns, and passive storing the energy in capacitances exhibited by said rows at the high frequency with an inductor. The low frequency is below the crossover frequency of the liquid crystal, and the high frequency above the crossover frequency.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of and a device for planarizing a photosensitive material, such as a photoresist, located over an irregular surface of a semiconductor wafer. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of passing radiation through a first medium and a second medium wherein the first medium is interfaced with the second medium. The method further comprises the steps of passing the radiation from the second medium into the photosensitive material that is interfaced with the second medium to expose the photosensitive material. The first and second mediums and the photosensitive material have radiation absorption coefficients such that the radiation terminates substantially within a plane of the photosensitive material. The method further includes the step of etching the exposed photosensitive material to the plane.

Abstract: A fiber suitable for use in high capacity optical fiber network operative with wavelength division multiplexing. Contemplated systems can utilize span distances in excess of 100 km, signal amplification within spans, and provide plural multiplexed channels operative at multiple gigabits per second.